The Tale of Time
by Lamberblamber
Summary: After the death of his parents in the Great Hylian War, Link is raised by Saria in the Kokiri Village. Not long into his 10th year, he discovers he is a part of a great destiny, a destiny in which he his not alone. Through some dreaded twist in fate, Link meets a boy who seems to be his dark half incarnate, a boy whose role in the fate of Hyrule is as uncertain as his origin.
1. Hylian Origins and the Great War

In the land of Hyrule, there echoes a legend. A legend held dearly by the Royal family and the people of the land, that tells of a boy, a boy who, after battling evil through the clutches of time and saving Hyrule, crept away from the land that had made him a legend. His name was Link. But what was not remembered within the legend, was the tale of yet another boy, a boy who accompanied Link in his quest. Fighting along side his comrades to seal away the terrible evil that threatened their land. But one such as him would not be taken account of in the fables and legends of what has come to be known as the Tale of Time. For his story is one of betrayal and deceit. Not only this, but not many have heard his name. For most, he is only an unknown hero lost to the ages; few even knew he existed. But the strangest part about that is...he never should have.

CHAPTER 1  
Hylian Origins  
And  
The Great War  
It was a bright and warm morning in Hyrule Field, and the sun had just begun to peak its glorious head over the desert horizon to the east. The Hylian Royal army Commander, Darin, and his second in command, Idien, readied for their one hour horse ride to Hyrule Castle. They had been summoned by the King on urgent matters, and had already journeyed for half a day from Lake Hylia with Darin's wife Anya, and their ten-month-old son. The land was in a silent slumber, but war was in the air, and a battle was close at hand. Darin and Anya lived on their own Ranch near Lake Hylia, and owned hundreds of horses. Idien, the son of a fisherman who lived near them, was about eight years younger than Darin and had been his best friend since they were both very young. Idien's family was very poor, and had lost their home a while back to a fire, so he was staying with Darin and his family until he could get a house of his own. He had also been made Darin's son's godfather when he was born, and occasionally took care of him. Near their tent under a plateau by the forest wall, Idien and Darin readied their horses.  
" What's up with these daybreak calls that the king seems so fond of?" Idien yawned. " I could have slept for at least another hour." He said.  
" Or two, or three." Darin laughed. " The King has his reasons, and you wouldn't be so tired if you had gone to bed when we did." Darin smiled and shook his head at him. Suddenly there was a loud cry from inside the tent. It was the baby. " Uh oh, we woke him up again.." Darin said.  
" If we don't leave soon, Anya won't ever get any sleep." Idien laughed. " Maybe he wants to come with. I'd gladly trade places with him." He smiled.  
" In your sweet, warm, and cozy dreams, Idien." Darin taunted as he entered the tent. Idien glared at him.  
" Darin.. The baby.." Anya said sleepily as he kneeled next to her.  
" It's okay Anya, I've got him. You can go back to sleep." Darin told her. She closed her eyes and quickly fell back asleep. Darin took his infant son outside the tent and over to Idien. " Would you mind getting him back to sleep?" Darin asked him. " I've still got some things to do before we leave." He said.  
" Yeah, no problem. Let me see the little guy." Idien said as he held out his arms. Darin placed him in them and went to finish getting ready. " Hey there little dude." Idien said to the baby. " You're absolutely crazy for waking up this early on your own, if I were you I'd sleep till noon." Idien said.  
" Sometimes he does." Darin laughed. Idien saw that the boy was starting to get sleepy again.  
" See, now that's the sleepy little face that I want to see." Idien said to him. Darin smiled as he was hooking up his saddle. " Aaaand, there he goes.." Idien said quietly as the baby fell back asleep.  
" He asleep?" Darin turned around from his horse and walked up to Idien.  
" Yup, he's out." Idien handed the sleeping boy over to him.  
" Great. Thanks, I'll just put him back to bed and we'll go. You're ready, right?"  
" Ready as I'll ever be I guess." Idien replied. Darin nodded at him and took the baby back into the tent. Idien mounted his horse and waited for him.  
" Okay, they're both out. Let's go." Darin said as he closed the tent behind him and walked to his horse.  
" Oh goody, I can hardly wait.." Idien grinned. Darin scoffed at his sarcasm and mounted his horse.  
" Great attitude. At this rate, you'll be a commander in no time." Darin said, situating himself on the horse. Idien shook his head  
" Sure.." He said. They both kicked off and began riding quickly towards the castle. They rode through the hills and dewy grass of the vast field for almost an hour until they finally reached the castle gates. The draw bridge had just been lowered over the large, deep moat, and the guards at the gate greeted them as they trotted past them. They entered Castle Town, a bustling busy market full of sellers and buyers. Most of the people that lived there were older folks that had retired and were to old to tend to their farms and businesses. Other people that were there were just there to sell things, or buy things, or just visiting. There was a large fountain in the center of the square. Children played on its edge, and their grandparents sat on the benches and watched. They rode past people, greeting them as they went. Little girls pointed and smiled at their horses, and the boys awed at their uniforms, weapons, and armor. It was a custom for higher ranking Hylian officers to dress in uniform when summoned by the King, even if no battle was there to need weapons for. They waved at the townsfolk and continued. Every time they came to Castle town, Idien always looked over past the houses and people to the large stone temple beyond the crowd. The people of Hyrule knew it as the Temple of Time, but not many people knew why it was there or how it got there. All they knew was that it had been there for centuries and they just accepted it as part of the town although parents did not allow their children near it, and most other people were afraid to venture too close to it anyways. Idien always admired it's tall towers and it's large stone door way, and how it always seemed to look well kept even though no one took care of it. They rode through the market and to the gate on the other side of the town, where the road went from stone to dirt. The trail went up a hill for about twenty feet and turned towards the castles main gate where the gate guard, one of their good friends, stood and waited for them.  
" Good morning, Commanders!" said the soldier at the castle gate.  
" Morning Adiah, how goes everything?" Darin asked.  
" Well, I can't complain, same as always I guess." Adiah murmured  
"What, the kids dropping rocks off the wall again?" Idien smiled.  
"No...Not yet anyway." Adiah grunted  
" You'll get through it my young friend." Darin laughed.  
" Yeah, he's right." Idien told him. " Darin had to go through the same boring gate post when he was your age, and now look where he is." Idien tried to encourage the young soldier, but left out the fact that Idien had gone straight from Esquire to Second Commander in less than a month, but that was Darin's doing. Adiah was only nineteen, three years younger than Idien and eleven years younger than Darin. He had been their biggest admirer as a young boy and looked up to both of them greatly, Darin especially.  
" You may not even have to wait that long, you could be a second commander in a couple years." Darin said. " I mean, Idien here's only twenty two, he's very young for a second commander, you know." He said. Adiah smiled, he knew they were trying to cheer him up.  
" You just wait, Adiah. You'll get there." Idien said.  
" Yeah.." Adiah grinned, and tried to change the subject. " Say, how's that boy of yours?" He asked.  
" Link? Oh he's fine. Asleep with his mother last I saw, won't be too long before he'll be making these trips with me. The little guy's growing up so fast." Darin said with a smile. Idien grinned at the thought.  
"That's right, and we're all looking forward to it. How old is he anyway?" Adiah asked him.  
" His birthday is in two months, and he'll be a year old, as hard to believe as it is." Darin replied.  
" Yeah. You guys heard about the Queen, didn't you?" Adiah smiled. Darin and Idien both looked at him waiting for him to tell them what he was talking about. Adiah could tell they didn't know, and was exited to break the news to them first. " She had a healthy baby girl last month! Hyrule's got a new princess!" Adiah said with an exited smile and waited for them to reply.  
"No, actually we didn't know to tell you the truth." Idien told him as he and Darin exchanged agreeing looks.  
" What's her name?" Darin asked, still surprised.  
" The King decided to name her Zelda. He thought bringing up some old tradition would give Hyrule a little hope in these times." Adiah explained. Darin nodded his head.  
" Zelda, nice name for a princess." Idien said. " I wonder if they will keep the tradition going now that it's started up again."  
" Yeah, it's been over three centuries since the kings of old stopped naming their princess's Zelda." Darin said thoughtfully.  
" Maybe you and the king could schedule a play date for each of your young ones? I'm betting your boy would like to meet someone close to his age." Adiah suggested. Idien looked at Darin for him to reply.  
" Ha, she may have to get in line. Link's already booked for a month of play dates with Talon's little girl." Darin smiled.  
" Oh yes I heard about her! She's only a week or two old, Malon, right?" Adiah asked him.  
" Yeah, Malon. It was her mother's choosing." Darin's voice trailed off from his once joyful tone.  
" Ah Mariette. Poor Talon, hard to believe something so awful could happen to such a good guy, not to mention having to raise a child alone."  
" Yeah, that's part of the reason Link's schedule is so booked. Talon knows where ever Link is, Anya and I are also, he appreciates the help Anya gives him. But who knows, I might just see what I can do for Zelda also. All I know is Link will probably the rope in a game of tug-of-war from the moment these girls can say his name." Darin perked the atmosphere into a once again casual tone.  
" Poor kid" Idien and Adiah laughed.  
"We're off to a meeting with the King right now, we'll see what I can do." Darin said. Idien looked back at Adiah. " In the mean time keep your chin up, Adiah. One day you might be invited to one of these meetings" Darin smiled.  
" Laugh if you will, Commander, but I'm well on my way to passing you up in ranks!" Adiah declared.  
" That's great, I'm glad you're so enthusiastic...now can you please open the gate so I can get through?" Darin smiled.  
" Yes sir, Commander, right away sir!" Adiah scoffed and signaled the guards above to lift the gate.  
" Goodbye Adiah, don't have too much fun." Idien smiled at him as they rode their horses through the gate.  
" Likewise Idien..." Adiah said as the gate shut behind them.  
" You think we gave him too much encouragement?" Idien smiled to Darin as they rode up the trail to the castle.  
" He did seem a little smug at the end there, didn't he?" Darin said. They both laughed. Even in this time of war, a good sense of humor wasn't a bad thing to keep on hand.  
They came to the end of the road and to the place where the castle draw bridge dropped. The guards at the gate greeted them and grabbed their horses reigns as they dismounted.  
" Lower the bridge! The Commander and his Second in Command approach!" Said one of the guards.  
" Thanks, Durel." Idien said to the guard as the bridge hit the stone platform in front of them, and the guards walked off with their horses to put them in the royal stables. Durel nodded at them as he walked away. Darin and Idien walked over the bridge and through the large stone doorway of the castle. They stopped in the large chamber as the draw bridge shut behind them. Throughout the castle there were troches lit and the Hylian crest hung on flags from the walls. The foyer was broad and tall, and a large crystal chandelier hung from the beautifully carved and adorned ceiling. There were great doors to their left, right and at the center as they edged further into the chamber. The one on their right led to the top towers, to the left, the Royal chambers, and the center one led to the throne room. Up the walls a ways was a balcony that encircled the room like a never ending hallway, and along it were many other doors not so big as the ones on their level. Attendants walked up and down the balcony and all around them, some smiled at them with a friendly "hello" and some looked at them and just kept going. From the looks on their faces, they would not guess that a Hylian princess had just been born, but that the atmosphere of war and the fact that many of these attendants family members were soldiers shown clearly in their expressions. They walked towards the door on their left that led to the Royal Chambers and opened it. The stairway on the other side was long and straight. They walked through the doors, up the stairs and finally into the Kings gathering room at the top.  
"Commanders.." The guards at the door greeted them solemnly as they entered the room.  
" Men.." Darin said. The guards closed the door behind them as they stepped up to the large wooden table in the center of the room, where many officers and the King of Hyrule sat and talked quietly. The King raised his head slowly as Darin and Idien approached, a faint sigh of relief escaped his lungs when he saw them.  
" Good morning Commanders, please come in" The King said.  
" Good morning your majesty how is everyone today?" Idien said as he walked up to the large wooden table.  
" Not so good Idien, come sit down." The King said. Darin took a seat next to Idien in two empty chairs beside each other. Every officer in the room was silent and looked very upset.  
" Congratulations on the arrival of the new princess, your majesty. What a blessing for Hyrule." Darin said with a smile.  
" Thank you, Darin.." The King replied quietly, then everyone was silent again.  
" What's happened? Has something gone wrong with the battles in the north?" Darin asked. The King looked up at him.  
" No, Darin. Those battles were victorious. Unfortunately we did suffer a great loss of men, and the remainder will not return for some while." He said. " There is another matter that troubles me deeply.." The King began. Darin and Idien both sat anxiously and waited for the King to inform them of this matter.  
" As you and all of Hyrule already know, we are at war with the West and have been for over a year." the King began. " The immediate Kingdom here in the East and the Provinces surrounding Hyrule Field have been kept safe from the affairs of this war by all battles being stationed to the west, north, and south…until now." The King sighed and paused for a moment. " The provinces of western Hyrule have declared a battle on the Kingdom and are marching on their way here as we speak." The King began. Darin and Idien both nearly gasped at this news. This meant that their families were now threatened, and were being targeted directly by their enemies. The King continued. "This comes not as a surprise, for they have a lust for power and have desired to conquer eastern Hyrule since the land was divided three centuries ago. An attack directly on the castle was to be expected eventually, but I would never have guessed so soon. Now I have called you all here because you are my highest ranking officers and can handle this truth in the best manner possible. I wish not to cause panic to Hyrule, but we must make haste to gather all our forces, they will be here by noon." The king finished. All was silent for a moment until Darin spoke.  
" Sire, do not trouble yourself on this matter." Darin began. " No one could have known that they would come at such an unexpected time. This is war, and you can trust in us to keep your land safe, for it is also our land." Darin assured.  
"The western providences are a ruthless and leaderless people. I doubt their strategy of battle will prove otherwise. We will do in this confrontation what we have done in every other of this war, we will come out conquering." Idien said  
" We will begin immediately, your Majesty. Does anyone know from which direction they are coming?" Darin asked.  
" We've received word that they are heading this way from the north west, around the lake." Said an officer seated near him. Darin stopped motionless immediately as the officer spoke, his breath was sucked from his lungs and he stood staring helplessly at the King.  
" Darin.. Darin!" Idien yelled. Darin jolted out of his chair and ran out of the room.  
" Commander!" the King yelled after him. Idien ran out the door to follow him. He quickly stepped down the stairs and ran through the Foyer and down the hall that went directly to the stables, where he had seen Darin vanish from sight. He turned the corner to see Darin mounting his horse and taking the reigns from Durel to leave the castle grounds.  
" Darin wait!" Idien yelled. He ran up to his horse and grabbed the straps on its front. " Where are you going?" Idien asked him breathing heavily.  
" Idien.." Darin began between heavy breaths. " Anya and Link are in their path, I have to warn them and get them to safety. If I leave them there they will surely be found and killed!" Darin told him. Idien let go of the reins in shock to now realize this.  
" Get them out of the field.." Idien stepped away from the horse and dropped its reigns. Darin kicked the spurs and took off like the wind out of the stables and towards the market. Idien was left standing in a cloud of dust watching his friend ride away.

The King and the remaining officers were discussing the plan of attack when Idien returned. " Idien, did you catch up with the Commander?" The guards at the door asked him as he walked through the door. He didn't answer.  
" Where did he go?" The king asked him. Idien walked slowly up close to him and spoke to him quietly.  
" We left Anya and Link asleep in the north western thoroughfare." Idien told him. The king was taken aback, and looked at Idien in distress. He walked to the table and looked up at everyone that was sitting down; they were all still talking amongst themselves.  
" This all could have been prevented if I had found this out sooner." The king said " He could have gotten them safely miles away from the field hours ago, instead he is rushing with all his speed to get them to safety at the last minute, and they will be lucky to be even a mile away from the battle when they arrive." He said as he slowly sat down in his chair. " The safety of the people of Hyrule is at stake and I can't even be informed enough to keep the family of my best officer out of harm's way. Let alone all of Hyrule. I should have told him this when I sent word for you.." He hunched over and put his head in his hands.  
" What about our reinforcements?" Idien asked him. " Are they still stationed on the other side of the forest?" Idien asked him.  
" Yes, but they can only be alerted of battle by messenger. Who knows if the enemy does not already have knowledge of them." The king told him.  
" Captain Shad!" Idien alerted a man on the other side of the table who immediately raised his head in acknowledgment . " Send a messenger to the forest province right away! Tell them to get every man ready for battle by noon, and send a fleet of soldiers to scour the field. Clear it of every woman and child. A rider needs to be sent to Lon Lon Ranch. It is the closest Ranch near here and horses need recruiting. Immediately!" Idien said to everyone at the table.  
"Yes sir" Shad said and walked out the door. All but three of the men followed.  
"What would you have us do?" one of them asked.  
" Logan.." Idien pointed at one of them. " Go into the market and inform every one of the circumstances. After you have made sure that they are all safely out of the market, go to Death Mountain and assemble the Gorons, Darunia also needs to be informed.. Colin, you go to Zora's domain and gather the Zoran army. And inform the Zoran King and Queen." Idien told them. Logan and Colin nodded with a " yes sir" and left quickly. There was now only one man left. " Jaren." He said to him. " You'll go to the Gerudo province. They do not have much of an army, but you can at least update Nabara on the situation." Idien explained to him.  
" Lake Hylia is on that route, do you want me also to ride there?" Jaren asked him. Idien thought of his father at home and Anya and Darin's Ranch, and hoped Darin would not send Anya there.  
" Yes. There aren't many people there, but notify those that are." Idien said.  
"Yes sir" Jaren said, and walked quickly out the door. The King and Idien were left alone in the chamber.  
" Where did Darin say he was bringing his family?" The king asked Idien.  
" He didn't, say your majesty" Idien told him.

Darin rode through the field, past Lon Lon ranch and within an hour he reached the north western thoroughfare. Darin didn't see any movement, they were both still sound asleep. Anya awoke with a start when Darin came rushing into the tent.  
" Anya, get up quickly. The western provinces have declared a battle, and their armies are right at the door step of Hyrule. You must take Link and leave Hyrule field!" Darin said between heavy breathes.  
" Darin…" Anya was cut off by Darin.  
" You've got to hurry! They will be passing through this road by noon!" he said. Anya began to speak, but was cut off again by Darin. He put his hand up to signal her to be quiet. All that could be heard was the faint cooing of the baby, even the birds had gone silent. There was a loud noise in the distance though, and it seemed to be getting closer. Darin quickly opened the tent door followed by Anya. They both looked out into the field towards the west, and saw a sight that froze their feet to the ground. An enormous army was marching straight for them. Darin looked up into the sky and squinted at the light. The sun was set in the middle of the sky. " Noon, oh no" Darin looked back at the huge force and they both darted back into the tent. Anya picked up her child from the blankets and Darin took him and held him softly, he looked into his sons deep blue eyes and wondered if he would ever see his family again. They both walked outside and Anya mounted her horse. Darin gave the baby back to her. "Anya, take the south western trail into the forest, from there go west till you reach the meadow near Lost Woods. Ride straight through it and continue south. You will find yourself in the Forest Provinces, tell them everything, they are sure to help you." Darin said to her.  
" Darin, what will happen? This war has torn apart our peaceful nation, the people of Hyrule grow ever worrisome over the thought of unexpected attacks such as this, and they fear that there will not be a land to pass down to our children. Are you prepared for the uneasy road ahead?" Anya's voice began to shake.  
"Do not worry for me, I will be fine. It is you and Link that I am concerned for. Hyrule will not perish while our soldiers defend her, and I am sure you will be safe within the walls of the forest." Darin assured her. Anya looked back at the host behind them, and back at Darin.  
" I love you." Anya said to him quietly as a glistening tear rolled down her cheek. Darin said nothing. The sight of his wife crying for him wrenched on his heart, and he tried with all his strength not to cry himself. He needed to be strong for his family.  
" And I love you." Darin finally said back. He touched his sons head. " Goodbye Link, look after your mother." He said to him "Now go!" Darin cried. Anya took up the reins and held her son firmly. " And Anya….don't look back." Darin said to her. She kicked her legs back and took off abruptly towards the forest trail. Darin watched her ride away and around the trees beyond sight. He saw the last of the remaining dust settle back onto the ground, and with a silent goodbye, he ran back to his horse. He mounted, grabbed the horse's reins and made a mad dash for the castle gates. It did not take him long before he was able to see the gathering of Hyrule's army in front of the castle walls. The Zoran archers stood proudly as the main defense of the wall, while Hyrule's soldiers and a mass of Goron fighters were congregated all along the field. There were also a surprising amount of Gerudo troops scattered within the group, armed to the teeth with swords and knives. Most of the Gerudos, known for their skill in horseback archery, were atop their black Gerudo Stallions with large quivers strapped to their backs, loaded with many of their own hand made arrows. Some were also atop the wall as archers alongside the Zoras.  
They had so little time to prepare for the battle, and the army was not as grand as he would have hoped. But none the less they were the most magnificent and willing force that Hyrule had ever seen. The Hylian soldiers stood carrying their Hylian shields, clad in their Hylian armor and ready to give their lives if necessary. The King sat on his horse along side Idien and Captain Shad awaiting his return. Darin rode up to them and stopped beside Idien.  
" Anya and Link are safe." Darin said to them in reply to the silent looks of anxiousness that they all gave him. " Can we now say the same for Hyrule?" He asked. The King took a deep breath.  
" Fight valiantly gentlemen, this land will live to see another dawn." The King proclaimed loudly for all to hear. All the soldiers, troops, and archers raised their weapons and shouted in ambition. "Although I doubt that we will." They stood and watched as the soldiers of the western provinces emerged over the horizon. Their numbers were massive, and they out numbered Hyrule's force by at least two thousand. The plan was simple. The bulk of the eastern kingdoms military force was spread out afar within the many battles that were still taking place all over the land, while the best of the Western Province force had been saved for this very moment. Once the castle and its town had been seized, all other battles would end the same. With the surrender of the defeated Eastern Hylian army.  
" My lord, where are our reinforcements? Should they not have been here by now?" Colin asked the King.  
" A messenger has been sent, but we cannot wait for them. It is only us now, we can only hope that they are not as set as we are." The king said.

Far to the south, Anya rounded the corner and entered the forest. Some ways away from the battle scene, the area was quiet and made Anya uneasy. As she merged further and further into the dark woods, she slowed her pace to a trot and continued on. There was a gap in the trees and Anya could see that there was a small clearing where tall grass grew. She stopped at the edge of the meadow and looked throughout the region. It was completely silent and there were no animals anywhere, the tone was uncomfortable. The baby looked up at her, he seemed to know something was wrong.

Meanwhile, the armies of Hyrule and the western provinces stood only momentarily, though the moment seemed to drag on forever, and observed each other from afar.  
" READY MEN...ATTACK!" The king yelled signaling the army to charge into battle. With a rush of adrenaline, Darin, Idien, and the King each drew their swords and took off on their horses, all the men, Gerudos, and Gorons shouted and stormed into combat behind them.  
The air was filled with the tremendous sound of soldier's feet and clanging swords as the two forces met head on in an epic battle. The Gerudos fought quickly and nimbly as they sprung into the air and put their training into action. The Gorons were like immense barrels of explosives, doing what they did best in curling up into hard, rocky shelled balls and blasting into the enemies lines. Some of them, including Darunia the chief of the Gorons, were even clad with long, sharp spikes that protruded from their backs as they rolled rapidly through the crowd. Swords flew and shields clanged as they fought. Darin rode through the thicket of men and spears swinging his sword and cutting through them. The scene was gory and horrible. Men lost their lives and took the lives of others. Idien and the King rode past Darin and into the heat of the crowd. They swept their weapons masterfully and took out as many as two men in a single blow. Suddenly Darin's horse reared up and flung him off its back and he fell down onto to hard dirt. The horse fell onto its side, it had been stabbed with a spear through its neck. Darin took up his sword next to him and engaged back into the battle, Idien and the King were still on their horses through the cluster of brawling men. The King rode away to another part of the battle, leaving Idien alone to fight off the onslaught. Darin fought hard to get through the swords and spears that were being flung at him, to reach his friend in need. Suddenly an enemy on horseback rode up to Idien, he got up close to him and lunged himself off his horse, tackling Idien off of his horse and onto the ground.

A group of militia from the western provinces sat along side the meadow. They had killed Hyrule's messenger to the forest province and were now awaiting the call to battle.  
"This forest gives me the creeps, I feel like I'm being watched" A small un-kept looking man said to a larger, more rough man next to him.  
"I can here the sounds of a battle off through the trees, it wont be long before we can leave." Another man walked up to the two sitting by a fire and sat down on a rock. "I'm sure we are being watched." He added, commenting on the smaller mans statement. The smaller man jerked a shocked look towards him and away from the fire, and the large man chuckled at his timid behavior.  
"Haven't you ever heard of the Children of the Forest?" The large man asked him. The small man shook his head quickly.  
"Yes, the Kokiri they are called. A mysterious race seen on an even less number of occasions than there are survivors of the forest to tell about them."  
"Tales of these people have been passed through generations of traveling men from our part of the land, my great grandfather was a very small child when last anyone had claimed to have spotted one." The large man took a bite of an apple casually while the small man listened anxiously to their tale.  
"They live through those trees in an area of the Hylian Forest called the Lost Woods, but the areas that far into the forest have been forbidden to all people. There is a cursed magic there that is centered around an even more mysterious place called the Sacred Grove, where there is said to be an ancient temple."  
"What kind of magic?" The small mans eyes were wide with curiosity.  
"No one knows for sure, because no one has lived to find out. All anyone knows is that for every five men that have entered the Lost Woods, there are five men who never come back out." The small man gulped loudly and glanced in the direction of the Lost Woods.  
"The Kokiri are not totally unaffected by this power of course. It does not kill them, on the contrary, it allows them to live for hundreds and hundreds of years. They age to a certain point and then stop, well, so it is thought seeing as the only Kokiri ever seen were children. Children with eyes so green you would think they were fire-lit emeralds if you didn't look twice." The man sitting on the rock shifted a bit. The smaller man gazed into the bushes and between the tree trunks looking for anything like an emerald. Both of the other men chuckled again.  
"Hey, Ekis, buck up and grow a spine. War isn't the time to fret over fairy tales." came another mans voice from behind the man on the rock. "Buckam, Yuri, quit tormenting the man and throw me an apple." He said and sat beside Buckam, the large man, who handed him an apple. Ekis quickly jumped up and saluted the new man.  
"Sit back down, Ekis! This isn't a formal army, as I've told you before, and I'm not a Commander!" the man said. Ekis sat back down immediately.  
"Sorry Ardus.." Ekis said quietly.  
"There are no such thing as Kokiri's, you remember that." Ardus said firmly and pointed a knife in Ekis' direction. Ekis nodded and Ardus began slicing off pieces of his apple.

Anya continued on slowly through the grass. She had a strange sense of being watched from within the trees all around her. Suddenly the horse stopped and shook its head refusing to go on. "Come along Tyron, what's wrong boy?" she said to the horse. She looked down onto the ground. She was terrified with what she saw. A man lay dead in the grass, an arrow stuck in his back. It was the Kings messenger to the reinforcements on the other side of the forest. She did not know that this was the Kings messenger, and she really didn't care right now, all she knew is that the killers could still be somewhere close. Anya's heart pounded and she began to breathe heavily as she scoped the tree line around her, quickly looking back and forth on either side of her. Link looked up at his mother worriedly, grabbing on to her blue hood as she took up the reins and darted through the field.

"You know Ardus, I don't think the King will send another messenger. What's the point in us staying here when we could be seeing some good action out in the field?" Yuri asked. Ardus swallowed a chunk of apple before he spoke.  
"We haven't been called yet, that's why. Besides, the King had no warning, so I doubt there'll be any need for our help out there." Yuri frowned and Ardus continued to eat his apple without a worry. All was silent but for the other men talking and moving about around fires of their own. Ekis was looking around casually when he heard a far off noise behind him getting louder. He turned and spotted a horse and rider riding through the meadow. The rider was cloaked and hooded in a dark blue wrap, and he couldn't see her face or her baby boy who she held close to her under her cloak. " Ardus, hey Ardus, look!" Ekis said. Ardus turned and peered through the trees at the mysterious rider.  
" So. The King isn't going to send another messenger eh?" Ardus scoffed at Yuri, who just rolled his eyes behind Ardus' back. "Well, this one has gotten a bit farther than the last one, but he wont be getting any further than that" He said. He took out his bow and pulled an arrow out of his quiver. Pulling back the arrow he aimed carefully and let it fly. The arrow flew through the air for what seemed like an eternity, it's feathers making a quiet whistling sound as it pierced the air. It was a killing shot that struck Anya right in her back, and she gasped in pain as she came tumbling down off the horse. The horse kept running, and Ardus and the three other men went slowly up to their mistaken victim to see if he was dead.  
" You got him good Ardus, even if he is still alive, he won't be for much longer." Said Buckam .  
" The King is a stubborn man, but the least he could have done was send a bigger messenger. This tiny man is hardly a challenge." As they approached they heard a strange muffled sound.  
" What is that horrible noise he's making?" Yuri asked. They looked down at Anya holding her wailing son. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing weakly. They gasped.  
" Ardus! You've shot a woman! This is no messenger! Now you've gone and done it! We'll be lucky if a flogging is all we get!" Yuri said. Ardus was terrified.  
"Not if we go unnoticed, no one saw us, and that means no one knows. We'll just leave." Ardus said to him.  
"Sir?! She's got a child! We cannot just leave her here!" Then, over the loud cries of the baby, they heard a rustling noise in the woods.  
"No one saw us, eh Ardus?!" Yuri whispered loudly as he began to back away from the Hylian woman.  
"Lets get out of here!" Ekis squealed and clumsily ran in the direction of the field. Ardus glared nervously into the forest where the noise had come as both Yuri and Buckam followed Ekis out of the meadow. He glanced back at Anya lying in the grass, still barely breathing. Her little blond-haired child still clutching his mothers hood and crying for her to get back up.  
"..I'm sorry.." Ardus said quietly to them both and ran back to the tree line and away from the thicket. If it was discovered that they had shot an innocent civilian, a woman and a mother no less, it would mean all their heads. Anya lay still on the ground, she was bleeding badly and was unable to move. At that time a young girl slowly emerged from the trees and looked towards the place where the men had left the thicket. There were no sounds and she saw no movement, the only thing she could hear was the soft crying of the child. The girl, assured that they were now alone, dropped the stick that she had purposely snapped in two and ran through the grass where she fell on her knees at Anya's side.  
"Miss, miss, wake up, please wake up!" she said. Anya slowly opened her eyes and looked up at her. "Oh thank goodness you're alive!" the girl exclaimed. Anya was shocked as she opened her eyes and saw the girl. It was not the girl herself that shocked her, but it was her eyes. They almost glowed green, as if someone were holding emeralds up to a flame.  
"What is your name?" Anya asked her.  
"My name is Saria, I'm from the Kokiri village, what is your name?" Saria said.  
"My name is…. Anya.." Anya struggled to get the words out. Link stopped crying and stared up at Saria, who looked back at him and smiled sadly. She picked him up off the ground and held him close. "Please, take care of him, for I will no longer be able to care for him. I fear I will not even last the day." Anya said. Saria cradled him in her arms. He gazed at her with big blue eyes.  
"I will protect him with all my strength, you have no worry. What is his name?" Saria asked. And with her final breath, Anya answered.  
"His name is.. Link.." Then she was gone, her life taken violently at the hands of an ignorant and careless enemy of war. Saria was left standing alone in the middle of the forest holding the Hylian woman's child in her arms.

Darin pushed as hard as he could to get through the crowd. When he finally reached Idien, he found that he was being attacked as he lay on his back. Darin jumped at the man and knocked him off of his friend. The man had gashed Idien all over his arms and stabbed him through the shoulder. Idien looked over at Darin to see him kill the attacker and walk back over to his side. "you alright my friend?" Darin asked him over the roar of the battle.  
"Yeah, I'm fine." Idien said sitting up. They both looked around them, they were surrounded. "Ruthless bloodthirsty killers" Idien glared holding his wounded shoulder.  
"We do not thirst for blood, no, we are not so barbaric." A very large man stepped out of the crowd in front of them. " We only thirst for the pleasure of spilling yours" The man said and smiled a terrible smile with yellow crooked teeth.  
"We will not die easily, for we have something to fight for." Darin said.  
"Unlike you" Idien agreed. " You fight only for your selfish desire to conquer those whom you think are under you." He said. The man grinned with a gross chuckle.  
" The Kingdom of Hyrule, however strong you think she may be, is under me. She will crumble by our hands and your King will fall to his knees and beg for mercy as he watches his Kingdom become ours." He said. Darin and Idien were both furious and waited for the chance to take their heartless foes down. " As for your unwillingness to surrender, That will only please me more. For I love to hear the screams of my enemies dying slow, painful deaths for a cause which is lost" The man said. "Men, attack the Commander and his pet, and show them no mercy!" the man yelled. The entire crowd closed in on them without any hesitation, and began to violently and recklessly swing their weapons. Darin dodged the blows and delivered his own with the skill of a master, all the while searching franticly for anyone near enough to help them . Most of the uncoordinated strikes bounced off of his shield and sent the attackers backwards onto their behinds. Idien got up and fought along side his friend with what little maneuverability he had left. Many yards away, the king saw the two of them fighting with all they could, and tried to hurry to their side. He was quite a ways away with many hundreds of men between him and them, but still he had to try. Darin and Idien fought off the men two at a time, but still they kept coming. It was such a mess that eventually they got separated from one another and were fighting alone. Darin turned around to find Idien out of the masses of fighting men, and spotted his friend trying to fight off his attackers with his terribly wounded and bleeding arm. The man with the yellow smile had drawn his large sword and began to charge at Idien with all his speed. Darin gasped and immediately recognized this attack. It was a Finishing Blow, a swordsman's strike that was meant to quickly end the life of an opponent, and if Idien was struck from behind as the man was aiming, he would die almost instantly. Darin rushed to him through the battle as fast as he could and tried to hit the man before he killed his friend, but he was not quick enough.  
The King, still trying to make his way to his officers, was stopped cold. The man's attempted Finishing Blow that had been aiming for Idien had instead stuck Darin. Darin had effectively saved Idien from death, but he himself was not spared. Idien turned around to see his friend standing with the sword through him, he was struck with horror. Darin dropped his sword and shield to the ground and looked down to where the sword had pierced his armor and now blood stained uniform. The man smiled and looked into Darin's eyes, he stepped up to him still holding the sword steady. " You were wrong... you do die easily." He said quietly, and yanked the sword out of him. Darin gasped, stumbled backwards, and fell to the ground. He gazed up into the cloudless sky as he lay still on his back, clutching the center of his dark red soaked uniform. The King was still standing in place and completely traumatized with what he had just seen. Anger built up in his violently pounding heart and he raged back into pursuit. "You're next, my young friend." The man said to Idien as he stepped over Darin and raised his sword to strike Idien down, Darin was now helpless to stop the man from slaughtering his friend, he and Idien looked at each other with one last farewell. The King rode up to the man from behind and with one strong, anger driven swipe of his sword, cut the man's head clean off before he could even turn to see who was there. His sword, still coated with Darin's blood, fell to the ground next to his beheaded body. The King quickly dismounted and kneeled down beside Darin along with Idien. Darin was hardly breathing, and blood began to drip down his cheeks.  
" Darin.. No, Darin, don't worry, we will get you to the castle" the King told him, he was just trying to be comforting, but he knew that no one has ever survived a Finishing Blow. He didn't know what else to say. Darin's eyes began to slowly fall shut as they tried to find words to say, silently kneeling next to him.  
" Darin NO! stay awake! Stay awake! You're not going anywhere!" Idien's eyes were filled with tears as he lightly smacked Darin on his cheek, vainly trying to keep him alive. All of the Hylian soldiers, Gerudos, and Gorons around them fought off the ambush of attacks to insure their safety as they spoke. "Darin, why did you do that!? You idiot! You cant die! You have a son to raise! Remember?! He was going to come to the castle with us when he gets older!" Idien was now yelling at Darin, tears streaming down his face as he continued to shake Darin's shoulder to keep him from closing his eyes. " You're my best friend,.. You're.. YOU'RE EIGHT YEARS OLDER THAN ME, DAMN IT! You're supposed to be smarter than me!" Idien screamed. The King kneeled quietly alongside them and cried as he listened to his young Commander plea for his friends survival. Darin looked hazily up at Idien, and almost began to cry himself when he saw the look on his friends grief-stricken face. He found the strength to get a few words out.  
" Idien.." He said weakly. Idien's expression loosened up a little, and he quickly edged closer to Darin's head so he could hear him better. " Idien, I'm sorry.. For being so.. Stupid" Darin said and smiled up at him. Idien laughed awkwardly with a shaky voice as he wiped his face with his hand. " But.. I couldn't.. let you.. Die." His face became serious now as he spoke. " Like you said.. You're my best friend.. I have you to look over.. Link and Anya.. You're Link's father.. Now.." Darin said to him. Idien looked very stunned to be given this responsibility, but nodded in somewhat agreement. Darin reached to his side and grabbed his shield from the grass. " When he gets older.. give him this...tell him, his father... Will always love him." Darin said to Idien. " And tell Anya.. That I will always be.. With her." He finished, and handed him his shield with a bloody outstretched hand. This was a very exceptional shield, a shield made especially for the most valiant and loyal officers of Hyrule. One could tell these shields apart from ordinary soldiers' shields by the Triforce of Courage painted on its base. There were only five known in existence. They were set to be made once every fifty years when the King of Hyrule began making them over two hundred years ago. That tradition, however, proved unreliable due to the fact that so little of Hyrule's officers had been deemed worthy enough to carry such a relic. But Darin had, and his was now being passed down to a new generation. Idien started to cry once again as he took the beautiful shield from his friend.  
" I wish you could be the one to give your son this shield and teach him how to use it.. I.. I'm not fit to be a father to your boy.. He needs you, Darin!" Idien sobbed.  
"...I trust you.." Darin said in almost a whisper, then closed his eyes and gently fell into eternal slumber.  
"Goodbye, my dear friend." The King finally said quietly, and lay Darin's sword across his chest, folding his hands around its handle.  
The battle raged on, all around them they heard the screams of men and the clanging of metal on metal. The King and Idien, still in utter shock and dismay, sat still on the ground next to Darin's body. They thought all was lost, when suddenly a shout rang out from a Zora atop the wall.  
"THEY'RE HERE! THEY'RE HERE!" the voice said. The King stood and looked around them. Half a mile to the south and still emerging from the forest with great speed, was the reinforcements from the Forest provinces. Their numbers were countless and they swept across the field like a flood, taking out every enemy in their path. Idien was not phased. He sat on his knees and continued to stare down at Darin's lifeless body and his shield that he had entrusted to him.  
"Come Idien, let us get Darin out of this field. This battle is won." The King said to Idien with a smile. Idien looked up at him with red, puffy eyes, and slowly stood up. He strapped the shield to his back and they gently lifted Darin onto the Kings horse and began leading him out of the field. As they approached the castle gates another voice rang out.  
"VICTORY! WE HAVE VICTORY!" A soldier yelled out. His voice echoed across the valley as the remaining enemy's were driven off into the desert, where the unfortunate few found a group of heavily armed Gerudos. The Zoran and Gerudo archers cheered atop the castle wall, Gerudo horseback archers were galloping their horses around madly and rearing them up with shouts of triumph as they raised their bows. Many Gorons around them were doing victory dances and hitting each other in excitement, and the soldiers all over the field lifted their weapons and shouted with joy. The sound, they say, could be heard all across Hyrule that day as the Kingdom of Hyrule had won their freedom. The draw bridge was lowered and the King and Idien walked across it onto the stone walkway. The drawbridge closed behind them, and they continued on to the castle. The market was silent, everyone was still inside their homes awaiting the call that it was safe to exit. Idien was very quiet as they slowly walked the horse along the cobble stoned square, he wished that his friend was alive to take part in their victory. He looked up at the stone Temple and thought, Darin would never gaze upon such a magnificent sight with him ever again, he would not get the chance to bring his son throughout Hyrule and show him what a beautiful land they had fought for. He and the King walked slowly out of Castle Town and up the dirt road to the main castle gate where they met Adiah. Adiah stood up tall when he saw them round the corner, and as they came closer, he saw that they were very battle worn. Idien's shoulder and arm continued to bleed, and his hands were still covered in Darin's blood. The King's armor had many deep scratches from the enemies weapons, and he himself had a rather deep sword wound on his leg below his knee that dripped down his shiny silver armor.  
"Your Majesty, and Idien! What news of the battle? Were we victorious?" Adiah asked anxiously. Adiah, although a soldier, was not called to battle. He was a year too young.  
"Many men lost their lives today, young soldier.." The King said quietly. Idien closed his eyes tight and looked away from Adiah to hide his tears. "..Including that of a very brave officer and friend." The King told him. Adiah's smile faded, he had just noticed Darin's shield now strapped to Idien's back, and the body on the Kings horse.  
"No...it can't be.." Adiah began, and took a step towards them. " Not Darin!" Adiah cried loudly as he saw the face of the man on the back of the horse. Idien walked up to Adiah and held his shoulders, he saw the tears now running down Adiah's face as he removed his helmet and dropped it on the ground beside him.  
"He gave his life for me, and because of him, Hyrule is free. We should be very happy, it is what he would want." Idien told him, his voice shaky and his face stained with his tears.  
" You and him were my only friends, and he taught me to be who I am now." Adiah said quietly. " I don't think I would have ever made it if I hadn't had him with me.. And I think now I will never get any farther…"  
"He was a friend to us all, and he will be dearly missed. But he will live on through the lives that he has saved and the life of his son, whom will someday take his place." The King said. Idien suddenly remembered Anya and Link. They had been sent away from the battle and knew nothing of its current state or of the tragedy.  
"Your majesty, please go on without me. I must find Anya and Link." Idien said  
"Yes, go. I will wait for you in the castle." The King said to him.  
"I shall return with them safely, goodbye Adiah." Idien said as he mounted his horse. He left the King to comfort his soldier and turned around. He dashed down the path and around the corner. He rode through the market where people were starting to slowly come out of their safe houses. They watched him gallop past and across the draw bridge. Out in the field the soldiers and Gorons were beginning to tend to the wounded and carry the dead on horses to the cemetery in Kakariko village. Idien stopped by the crowd and looked on, the captain of the Forest Provinces rode up to him and stood along side him.  
"Such a loss, there are more than three hundred casualties." The captain said.  
"They didn't die in vain; Hyrule is safe once again thanks to all those brave men." Idien said.  
"I heard about the Commander. I know he was your friend, and I'm terribly sorry." The captain said to him. Idien closed his eyes and held his head down. Both men knew what Darin's death meant, Idien was now to be made Commander. He had wanted this since he was a little boy, but he never wanted to get there in this way. He never expected the price he'd pay to serve his Kingdom. Idien was silent after the Captain spoke.  
" I'm just regretful that we didn't learn about the battle earlier.." the Captain continued. Idien looked up at him. " But I also wish we could have found out some other way." The captain sighed. Idien continued to look at him.  
"What do you mean? we only sent you a messenger on horseback." Idien asked.  
"Yes I know. And in a way, he both failed and succeeded in delivering the message." The captain told him. "We found two bodies in the in a meadow near the Lost Woods, one of them your messenger, and the other a young woman. Both had been shot by enemy militia and left for dead." The captain explained. Idien hardly waited for him to finish his sentence before he was riding hard for the forest. Past the Gorons and soldiers helping wounded men, and the lost weapons of enemies and fallen Hylian men lying on the ground, Idien charged forward away from the battle scene. He was terrified of what he might find on the other side of the forest wall, he was almost totally numb to his senses in anxiety, and the pounding pain in the wound on his shoulder seemed almost nonexistent. He hoped and prayed that he would not find Anya and Link, not this way. But how could it be? The Captain had said only two bodies were found.. Maybe.. Maybe they hadn't found Link yet. Maybe they had overlooked the tiny infant in the tall grass. These questions in Idien's racing mind tightened his stomach and sliced at his heart with every hoof beat that brought him closer to the answers. Link and Anya were now his responsibility, now with Darin gone. It killed him to even think that the woman lying dead in the meadow was Anya, or what could have possibly happened to her baby boy in these woods. He entered the woods and weaved quickly through the large trees. He passed groups of men searching the thick forest for casualties, they watched him gallop past, and they wondered where he was going. Idien could see the clearing through the trees, his heart was in his throat and he could barely hold onto the reins. Soldiers were gathered in the middle of the field, and they were readying a horse to carry the bodies out of the forest. They looked away from what they were doing and saw Idien emerge from the tree line. Idien slowed his horse as a soldier walked to meet him.  
"What…who…." Idien tried to ask him.  
"Sir..." the man said slowly with an expression of dread to what he was about to say, and he removed his helmet as he approached.  
"NO!" Idien blurted out jumped off his horse and ran to the group of men.  
"Sir!" the soldier yelled after him. Idien reached the men, and saw that his worst fears had been true, and that his false hopes had been for absolutely nothing. He saw Anya lying in the grass, lifeless. He fell to his knees clumsily and held Anya's head in his arms.  
" no.. no.. no, it's not true, it isn't.. it cant be. She's not dead, she's here, she's here with us.." Idien sobbed as he rocked back and forth holding Anya close, with the hope that his love and sadness alone would bring her back, bring back the life of his lost friend's wife. He could not believe that this was happening, and found it very hard to accept that this woman really was Anya. The men around him stood and held their helmets in their hands and silently mourned the loss of the commander and his family. Although they felt as they did for Anya and Darin, they could never feel as Idien did. The sorrow and shock was overwhelming, to lose both of your best friends within the afternoon, they could not even imagine what he felt. Idien closed his eyes tight and stopped moving. It was true, he had lost almost everything now, his two best friends were gone. He wiped his tears and slowly lay Anya's head back to the ground. As he gazed down at the beautiful woman who seemed to just be peacefully resting, he suddenly remembered.  
"Link..." Idien whispered in shock as he saw Anya's empty arms.  
"Sir? Did you say something?" Asked a soldier standing next to him. Idien looked around the area and up at the man.  
"There was a child, an infant, did you find him? He wasn't… ..was he?" Idien stood, and asked with little hope that Link wasn't also dead.  
"We found no infant, sir, nor any trace of an infant." The Soldier said to him. " We did however find a lost horse near the forest province, and the remnants of an enemy militia camp on the borders of the meadow." He explained.  
"Where is the horse? Is it here?" Idien asked.  
"Yes Sir, it is over there." The man pointed to a brown horse with a group of others close to the edge of the forest, about ten yards from them. Idien saw it and walked over to it, thanking the soldier as he left. He stopped halfway there and watched solemnly as they covered Anya with a shroud and carefully lifted her onto a horse. He continued on slowly, and as he approached the horse, it turned its head and looked at him with large, sad, brown eyes. The horse was a reddish brown color, it had a light brown main and tail, and white ankles. Idien reached out his hand and stroked the horses forehead.  
"Tyron, I'm so sorry boy. It looks like you and I are the only ones now that can help Link, he's our responsibility.." Idien recognized the horse as Anya's. Darin had given him to Anya's father the day that he proposed to her. A kind of peace offering between Darin and the man, who did not approve of him too well. Anya inherited the horse when her father died. Tyron was only five years old, but his line before him had been in Darin's family for over one hundred seventy five years. Darin and Anya loved their horses that they raised on their own ranch on the lake. Tyron was their favorite, and he knew something was wrong. The horse looked away from him and closed his eyes. Idien stepped closer to him and began searching for any trace of Link. A blanket, a toy, a bag, anything that might help him find the child. His hopes were in vain though, he found nothing to indicate that Anya even had the boy with her at all. With a sigh of distress, Idien turned away from Tyron and looked to the heavens for an answer. What had happened to his world? Why had this tragedy befallen the people closest to him? He then remembered something Darin had once told him.  
" Perhaps the worst thing that could happen to a person is not to have a terrible thing ensue them, but to watch a disaster take place in the life of a dear friend and be helpless against it." Idien recalled the strong and wise voice of his friend, and found hope to press on. He was not totally helpless against this, he realized. There was, perhaps, still some chance that a part of both of his friends still remained. Link could still be alive, and Idien was going to do whatever it took to find him.  
"Soldier!" Idien shouted to a man in the field. "Rally a search party, we have a missing comrade!" He said.  
" Yes Sir!" The man said. Idien ran back to his horse as the men were readying to enter the forest. He mounted and took off towards the forest provinces, a large group of soldiers followed also on horseback. They stormed into the forest in every direction except east. They knew what was to the east, that was the one place they could not ever search, and it was the one place that held the one they searched for.

Two miles east of the field, Saria had brought Link to the Kokiri Meadow. The Kokiri people were only children. They never aged past a certain point in their lives. Although most of them looked to be only ten or eleven years of age, many of them were at least one hundred or more years old. Saria herself was eighty three. Normal Hylians would think her to be a child, but Saria was wise, courageous, and caring. She had left the Hylian Forest and was now in a part of Hyrule that was forbidden to outsiders. Everyone that had entered these "Lost Woods" that was not a Kokiri, was lost in the deep, dark closeness of the trees, and was placed under a dark spell that transformed them into a part of the forest. As Saria carried the baby deeper and deeper into the woods, she watched for any sign that Link would be put under this spell. Usually, sure warnings would be a deep sleep that one could not be woken from, or changing of the eyes from their normal color, to a very dark green. However, Link exhibited none of these symptoms, he instead was wide awake and curious about his surroundings, and his eyes stayed a sparkling blue. Saria was confounded by this. Never before had a normal Hylian, child or adult, ever been untouched in some way or another by the magic of the Lost Woods. She stopped on the bridge to the entrance of the Meadow, and held him up. " You must be a very special child, Link." She said. " It is so terrible what has happened to you, and no child should ever have to endure what you have, but I am also glad that I can now call you my own." She said, and she closed her eyes and kissed his forehead. He gazed at her, and smiled. She tucked him back nicely into her arms and continued into the Meadow.  
"Hey, Saria!" a Kokiri girl yelled as Saria walked the path towards her " Look everyone, Saria's back!" She said, and ran up to her. She suddenly stopped running and gazed at what Saria was holding, she could only just now see that it wasn't Deku Sticks. " Oh my, Saria, is that a Hylian BABY?!" She shrieked with delight. She could tell he wasn't Kokiri, no Kokiri ever had blue eyes, not like the ones Link had. About eight other Kokiri boys and girls nearest them stopped what they were doing and looked when they heard her yell the word "baby".  
" Um, yes it is, Tia." Saria gritted her teeth and tried to signal the girl to be a little quieter about it. She didn't quite want them all to know yet. But Tia didn't even notice the look on Saria's face. In fact she wasn't even looking at her face, she was much to occupied by the arrival of Link.  
" Goochy goochy goo! Hi there little…fella? Is it a boy or girl? He looks like a boy." She asked Saria.  
" He's a boy" Saria sighed as every Kokiri girl in the village ran up to them. Link had a slightly worried look on his face. It was obvious for a Kokiri that seeing a Hylian or a baby was a very rare thing, and it was even rarer yet to see a baby that was a Hylian. Suddenly Saria was bombarded with question and comment after question and comment. Things like, " What's his name?", " How old is he?", and "He's so CUTE!", " I just LOVE his pretty blue eyes!". They were all as baffled and shocked as Saria was to see that the boy was completely immune to the Lost Woods' magic.  
"I just can't believe it, Saria! It's like a miracle, it doesn't effect him at all! Can we keep him?!" Tia was overjoyed. In the midst of the loud giggling and gaping over the baby, someone else yelled out a question.  
" Where is his mother?" the louder voice over powered all of them and silenced everyone. The group parted and let Saria see who was speaking. It was Mido, the self appointed village chief, and somewhat of a heel. Saria saw the angry and perhaps a little bit jealous look on Mido's face, and answered him.  
"..She's dead." Saria told him. She could hear the gasps and murmuring of the girls around her after she spoke. The expression on Mido's face changed only slightly.  
" What about his father?" Mido asked her as he crossed his arms. Saria had only now even given any thought to Links father.  
" I don't know anything about his father, or if he even has one. His mother gave him to me just before she died, and she told me nothing of a father." Saria told him.  
" Well, isn't that just our luck. Why didn't you think of getting some of this information? It would have been useful, you know!" Mido rolled his eyes and waved his hands around, frustrated. He didn't approve of the new attraction.  
" She was shot in the back with an arrow and fell off her horse while still somehow managing to keep her baby boy from getting hurt! I don't think "useful information" was one of the most important things on her mind at the time!" Every one was absolutely silent. They knew what kind of horrible things happened right outside their safe village, but they never gave any thought to just how terrible. It was also a very rare thing to see Saria get angry and yell, and none of them had even thought of how Link had come to be with Saria in the first place. Mido was quiet for some time, until he finally got the nerve to speak to her again. Although Mido thought of himself as Chief, he and all the rest of the villagers had more respect for Saria than any of them had for him, and what a terrible thing it would be to be the one she was angry at.  
" Fine, Saria, you can take him to the Great Deku Tree. We'll let him decide what to do." Mido said quietly. Saria took a breath to calm down, and began to walk through the now silent crowd and past Mido. " Wait, Saria. What's his name again?" Mido asked her. Without looking up at him, she said.  
" Link, his name is Link." She told him, and kept walking. Mido shook his head and looked around at everyone, they were all watching Saria walk away.  
" Well, show's over everyone, go back to doing…whatever it was you were doing." He said, and turned to walk back to his house.

Saria took Link through the Village and back into the woods on the other side. The trees in this part of the woods were much larger than those towards the Hyrule Field border. They were of very dark wood, and most of them had thick dark green moss all over them. They were now completely out of sight of the village, and they came to a very high wall of rock that the Kokiri ancestors had built. " You see, Link. Our ancestors built this wall over three hundred years ago, when they first arrived in this forest and found the Great Deku Tree. The wall is to keep all others besides us Kokiri out of the Great Deku Tree's Meadow." She explained to him as he looked up at it in awe. " It only allows the Kokiri through, and there is no known magic that can penetrate it." She said. Suddenly the vines on the wall began to pull apart the stones in front of them, reaching between the cracks in the bricks. The stones seemed to just disappear inside of the ones that they were against as the vines continued to pull them away to form a neat path in front of them. As the wall stopped moving, Link gave a curious " Oooo" and smiled. Saria chuckled and grinned at him, then continued on to the Deku Tree's Meadow. There was only a short area of forest encircling the enormous tree in the center of the meadow. As Saria exited the tree line, Link saw the huge tree, and his mouth fell open. It was at least three hundred feet tall, and seventy feet in diameter at its base. A broken branch and a few odd bumps on its front gave it the appearance of having a human-like face. This was the Deku tree, the guardian of the forest and the keeper of the sacred Kokiri Emerald, an ancient stone that connected the Kokiri to the rest of Hyrule in that it was one of the four keys to opening the Sacred Realm of Hyrule from this world, but neither Saria nor any of the rest of the Kokiri knew this. A time would come when this stone would leave the Deku Tree's possession and be passed down to the one who could use it to make a difference for all of Hyrule. All of the Kokiri knew this, but not that that time was closer than they could ever expect. Saria approached the tree and began to speak.  
" Great Deku Tree, I found this Hylian child in the meadow just outside the village…" She was interrupted by the Tree.  
" The boy's name is Link, his mother has recently passed, and his father has fallen in battle. He is now an orphan alone in this world." He said.  
" His father has.." Saria was distraught at learning the fate of the child's father. He really was an orphan. She looked down at Link and held his tiny hand as he reached it out at her face, and smiled.  
" There is something special about this child, Saria. He has a great destiny. I sense one day he will lead Hyrule to freedom from a new and soon to come terror. He has a mysterious power about him, and that, I'm sure, is why he was immune to the deep magic of these woods." Saria looked up at him surprised to hear this. " But there is something else, I sense a dark presence in him, something I have never felt before. It is almost as if.." The Deku Tree paused, and Saria gazed at him in wonder at everything he had to say about Link." Never mind, Saria. Care for this boy, and until his day of destiny comes, he must never leave the boundaries of this forest, for there will be many who would seek his life." The Deku Tree explained.  
"Yes, Deku Tree, but, will he ever feel like one of us? Or will he always have a hole in his heart that he cannot fill, and not know what belongs there?" Saria asked. The Tree sighed.  
" He will always feel an emptiness until the time comes that he should know of his true heritage, and I am afraid Mido will never accept him as a Kokiri. One day Link will grow to be a man, and Mido will always have the appearance of a child. He will always resent Link because of that, but the decision is not for Mido to make. For now, he will be one of us." He replied. Saria sighed. "Go now, take the child to your home and give him a place to rest, he has had a rough day." He said.  
" Thank you, Great Deku Tree." Saria thanked him, and turned to head back to the village.


	2. The Beginning of the Long Journey

CHAPTER 2  
Beginning of The Long Journey  
and the  
Making of Unusual and Unlikely Friends

Ten years passed since that day in the woods, Hyrule had defeated the Western nations, and had increased the size of the land by more than two hundred miles. Anya was buried with her husband in the royal cemetery where they lay in eternal slumber, and Idien was made Commander soon after their victory. And after a heart wrenching, unfruitful six years of searching for his friend's son, moved away from Darin and Anya's horse ranch by the Lake, and into the safe walls of Castle Town. Link was now old enough to live on his own, Saria had taught him well how to be able to care for himself. He still knew nothing of his true heritage, and somehow always felt a slight longing for what was outside the borders of the forest. Saria had kept her promise that she made to the Great Deku Tree ten years earlier, and had kept Link safe from anything and anyone outside the village, and sometimes, the ones within it.  
On this particular day, Mido had returned from a visit to the Deku Tree, and was very upset about something. He would not tell anyone what the Deku Tree had told him. On Link's last night of staying in Saria's home, Link had gone to bed earlier than Saria, who was still up and quietly sitting near a lit lamp thinking about what was to come now that Link was only a couple years away from being older in appearance than any of the Kokiri. It wasn't something she enjoyed thinking about, but Link getting ready to move out of her house had brought these feelings up in her mind, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake them. Link wasn't asleep, but he instead lay awake, also thinking about everything. As he lay in bed silently, he heard someone knock on Saria's front door. " Yes? Who is it?" Saria said quietly.  
" It's Mido, Saria. Can I come in?" Mido answered. Saria got up from her chair, walked to the door, and let Mido in.  
" What is it, Mido. Is something wrong?" Saria asked him as she closed the door behind him.  
" You know that I went to see the Great Deku Tree today, don't you?" He asked her.  
" Well, yes. What happened, did he say something to you?" Link sat up a little in his bed to listen to them, he could hear that Saria was worried.  
" He said.." Mido paused and quieted his voice almost to a whisper. " He said that something is going to happen, something very bad. Involving Link.." Mido told her. Link's heart began to race as he heard this, and he could hear Saria's voice begin to shake.  
" Oh no, it's happening.." She said.  
" What's happening, Saria?! Don't leave me in the dark, the Deku Tree didn't tell me hardly anything!" Saria was silent. Mido put his hands on her shoulders, Link could hear that Saria was crying quietly. " Saria, what did the Deku Tree tell you about Link?" Mido asked her calmly.  
" He.." Saria murmured. " S-said that, there would be a new terror in Hyrule one day soon, and, he sensed something, within Link." She told him.  
" A new terror? Did he mean that Link was going to be the new terror?" Mido was now getting a little anxious. Saria gazed up at him with large, tear filled eyes, and whispered.  
" I don't remember…" She said. Link was now breathing heavily, and absolutely terrified at what he was hearing.  
" I knew there was something not right about him, Saria. The very first day you brought him here, I knew that something was off." Mido said.  
" But Mido, he's just.." Saria tried to speak.  
" He has to leave, Saria. He's old enough to be on his own now, he needs to be back where he belongs." Mido told her. He opened the door to leave her house. " .. I'm sorry, Saria. It's just the way things have to be." He said, and shut the door behind him as he left. Link did not sleep at all that night, he instead lay awake in his bed, pondering what in the world Mido had meant by " Back where he belongs". He could not even imagine.

The next day, Saria and Link both tried to forget what had happened the night before, and since Saria assumed that Link had been asleep at the time, they both pretended that nothing had happened at all. That whole day was very busy, Link had just moved out of Saria's home, and the other villagers, with whom he was now great friends, had helped him build his own house in the village. There was a large tree in the village that they had hollowed out and made the inside to be quite nice. It was high off the ground, and had a balcony at the door with a ladder to the ground. It was just big enough for Link, and he was very grateful for the help of the others. As they all celebrated Link's new house, Mido sat at a distance and quietly brooded over what he had just learned about Link. He had always resented Link, but now he was closer to hate, and was afraid for the safety of the village. Mido knew nothing of Link's life before he had come to the village. All he knew was that Link had stolen Saria's love and affection from him, and also felt as if the Deku Tree no longer thought of Mido as the most important one in the village. He sat alone all day, watching his fellow Kokiri doting on this imposter.  
That night, Link slept in his new home for the first time, and although he did sleep this time, he had a terrible nightmare. He dreamt of a large white stone wall that had a draw bridge. He stood before the bridge as it was lowered down and a white horse carrying a tall person and a young girl galloped past him. As they rode away, the girl turned and looked at him, her eyes looked very sad and worried, and she gazed at him as if she knew him and was terribly afraid for him. Then he looked around, and standing before him was a mighty black stallion. On the stallion was a large, fierce person like Link had never before seen. Link could feel the evil in his eyes, and see a deep hatred in his expression. The person looked at him, and Link could feel his evil gaze piercing through his mind, it was as if all the hatred and evil inside him was being brought forth from the deepest corners of his mind. He grabbed his head and screamed in pain. He felt his heart racing as the pain subsided, and he looked up to see if the person was still there. The person was gone, and he instead saw a boy standing in front of him with a sword in his hand and an evil smirk across his face. The boy looked like him, but only, like his shadow. His body was totally black, and he did not cast a shadow himself. His eyes were what Link saw the most. They were a dark, evil, glowing red, and they glared back at him. He let Link see the blade, he laughed, and before Link could run or scream for help, the boy pulled his arm back and quickly lunged the blade into him…  
Then he woke up, with a cold sweat on his brow and the feeling of terror and shock you have after a terrible dream. The dream seemed so real. he looked at his chest just to make sure it wasn't. He sighed with relief after realizing that he was alright. He got out of bed, put on his boots, and stepped outside on his balcony, Saria was down below waving at him. It was nearly noon, and the sun poured out it's warmth onto him. It was a great relief after having such a dark, cold dream.  
" Good morning, Link! did you sleep well in your new home?" She asked. Link climbed down the ladder.  
" Yeah, but I've slept better before." He answered her with a look of sarcasm out of the corner of his eye as he stepped down the ladder.  
" Well, sometimes it takes time to get used to a new place, it'll get better." Saria said. " Listen, I need you to do me a favor. The Deku Tree wants you to go into the forest and find a very special item." She said. Link was a little worried when she said that. Was she trying to get him to leave? He then perked up a bit when he saw that she didn't look upset. He waited for her to tell him what it was. " There is a chest near the Deku Trees meadow, find the chest and bring it back here. Could you do that for me, please?" She asked him.  
" What? you're not going to tell me what's in it?" Link asked her.  
" Not yet, but you'll find out soon enough." She told him. Link huffed at her, annoyed to have to be patient.  
" Alright, I'll get your chest." He said and rolled his eyes with a "whatever" smile.  
" Thank you very much." Saria smiled at him. " All you have to do to find it, is take the path to the stone wall, turn left and keep walking. You will reach a line off trees that will block your path, once you get there, look at the wall. At eye level, there will be a brick with a very small carving of the Kokiri Emerald on its front. Find a rock and break the brick, then you should be able to pull the chest out by the handles." Saria explained. Link just stared at her.  
" Um, ok so.. Path, left, trees, wall, Kokiri Emerald, rock, chest… I think I got it." Link repeated the directions to her.  
" Great. When you get back with it I'll have something for supper made, so hurry back!" She said to him as he walked off towards the forest.  
" Okay! I'll try!" He said back to her. He was about to enter the forest but was stopped at the tree line by Mido, who was hiding behind a tree.  
" Where do you think you're going? Nobody see's the Great Deku Tree unless I say so! And I'm not about to let anybody through right now, ESPECIALLY you!" Mido said. Link knew why Mido was so cross with him, but he figured that he had a good enough reason to get through.  
" Saria said the Deku Tree wants me to go into the forest and find a certain chest, now will you please let me through?" Link was trying not to be too angry at him.  
" So, you think that saying that would make letting you through more likely? What makes you think that I'd trust you so easily?" Mido asked him. Link just stared at him angrily. " And I just can't seem to figure out how someone like you ended up being the favorite of both Saria and the Great Deku Tree. Especially since you.." He paused. " Well, I'll let someone else break it to you. If you heard it from me, it would probably hurt your feelings and you would cry, and the last thing I want to deal with is a crybaby right now." He continued. Link was getting quite angry with him, although he did his best to hide it, and instead of satisfying Mido with an argument, he stayed quiet. " And besides the point, if anyone was to go and find that chest, it should have been me! But oh well, even with what's in that chest, a wimp is still a wimp, huh?" Mido glared at him. " Well, I've decided that I'll let you pass." Mido said. Link was surprised that Mido wasn't going to beat him up or something. " BUT.." Mido said before he moved. " You will NOT go near the Deku Tree. If I find out that you have, I will personally throw you off the forest bridge and let whatever creatures that are out there have you for a nice snack. Okay buddy?" Mido smiled. He had never said one nice word to Link since he had lived there, not even on the day that Saria had brought two-year-old Link to Mido's house and Link had said " Hi Mido!" in the cutest little voice you would ever hear. Mido didn't even break a smile, but Link, fortunately, didn't remember that day.  
" Yeah, sure." Link answered him mockingly. Mido moved out of his way and he passed through into the trees. He knew that Mido was watching him carefully, but he didn't turn to see him, for fear that he might look suspicious. Link hadn't been this deep in the forest in almost ten years, and nothing looked as he had remembered it. All of the trees were much bigger, and new trees were growing. The path however, was still nice and clear, and Link found his way through the woods quite easily. He eventually came to the stone wall. The sight of the large, dark grey barrier brought back a few memories of his first trip to the Deku Tree when he was a baby. And as Saria had said, it only opens for Kokiri, so it didn't open when Link touched one of the hard, cold bricks. Link didn't notice, he had thought that you had to do something special to get it to open, and he didn't know what it was. He admired the handiwork and turned left just as Saria had instructed him. After he had walked along the wall for about three minutes, he came to the line of large trees that he was told of, and turned to the wall to search for the Kokiri Emerald carving in stone. "…Oh" Link said as he saw that the entire wall, as far as he could see, had tiny Kokiri Emerald carvings in the center of every brick. " There must be thousands of them!" Link thought aloud to himself. He looked up and down the wall, and remembered what else Saria had said  
" You will reach a line of trees that will block your path, once you get there, look at the wall. At eye level, there will be a brick with a very small carving of the Kokiri Emerald on its front" He remembered. He went right to where the closest tree touched the wall, and stood straight in front of it. There was a slightly darker brick directly in front of him.  
" There you are." He said with a smirk. He picked up a large rock that was on the ground next to him, brought it back behind his shoulders, and threw it at the stone as hard as he could. There was a loud SMASH, and a cloud of rock dust filled with pieces of the broken stone flew as the stone impacted the brick. Link coughed and tried to fan away the dust with his hands. As the cloud of powder cleared, Link could see wood and metal behind what was left of the stone. He quickly began to clear away the rest of the brick, and saw a large dark-wood chest neatly placed within the wall. He was so exited to see what was inside. He pulled and pulled, the chest was extremely heavy." What in the WORLD is in here?!" Link growled as he gave another big tug on the handle. Suddenly the handle of the chest ripped off, and Link was sent to the ground and fell on his behind with an awkward " Oof!" He looked at the handle still in his hands. It was still attached to the rotten wood that it was bolted to. " What a piece of junk!." Link scoffed. He got up and dusted himself off. He saw in front of him, a large and growing pile of sand coming from the chest. The piece of wood that he had pulled off had left an opening almost big enough for him to fit his head in. He stepped up to the wall and scooped the remaining sand out of the chest. It was very dark inside it, and he couldn't see whatever was in there. He was a little cautious to stick his hand inside and feel for anything, but slightly reluctantly he did it anyway, slowly feeling around its bottom for its contents. As he inched his hand over the wood, he thought he felt something cold and steely. He was going to grab it and pull it out, when suddenly he heard an extremely loud, earsplitting roar coming from the other side of the wall. He quickly yanked his hand from the chest and covered his ears.  
He could feel the sound vibrating everything around him, and he saw pebbles and dust crumbling off of the wall in front of him as he fell to his knees, not daring to remove his hands from his ears. The noise went on for only about seven seconds, and as instantly as the roaring started, it stopped, and everything was in utter silence. Everything went from earsplitting noise, to ear ringing stillness, and Link slowly got up and waited for something to make a sound. The only thing he could hear was the fast beating of his heart. He was terrified to even breathe, he thought the world had just stopped. Then he did hear something, a rustling in the bushes quite a ways down the wall in front of him. He could hear that it was getting closer though, and he began to breathe heavily. He felt frozen to the ground as the rustling got louder and louder, and as he could see that whatever it was, was going to be right in front of him at any second, he leapt to the wall and snatched the item out of the chest. He didn't know what was inside it, but maybe whatever it was, it could help him somehow.  
And just his luck, the secret in the chest turned out to be the Sacred Sword of the Kokiri. An ancient weapon used by the very first Kokiri Chief, locked away safe just waiting for it's next heroic wielder. It was sheathed in a polished, wooden cover with gold edgings, and attached to a leather shoulder strap with a buckle on its front. Link quickly unsheathed it and gazed at the sword. It was the very first time he had held a weapon in his hands. The blade was about two and a half feet long, it was a shiny silver. The hilt was polished wood, and there was an engraving of the Kokiri Emerald near the blade with actual emeralds embedded within it. He stood with the sword in his hand and waited to face whatever came at him. The bushes were now moving directly in front of him. Link continued to breathe heavily and a cold sweat dripped down his forehead. Link could see the top of someone's head through the bushes, the person wasn't very tall, and he or she was running very fast. Suddenly they jumped through the bushes, they both screamed when they saw each other and jumped behind the trees nearest them. They only got a short glimpse of each other, but from what Link saw of the person, it was a boy about his age. They peeked their heads from behind their hiding places and looked at each other. Link had never seen this boy before, he didn't think that he was a Kokiri. " Who are you?!" Link asked him.  
" Who are you?!" The boy asked him back.  
" I asked you first!" Link said.  
" You don't have to be such a grump!" The boy said. " But I'm not telling you until you tell me!" He said.  
" Fine!" Link paused silently for a moment, and the other boy did the same. As they heard each others voice a strange sense of familiarity swept over each of them. Link thought nothing more of it and stepped out from behind the tree with his sword still ready in his hands incase the other boy tried anything. The boy gasped when he saw him. " I'm Link. There! I told you! Now who're you!?" Link asked him. The boy stepped out from behind the tree, and they both stood staring at each other in disbelief. They were both wearing the exact same tunic, and they were both wearing the same hat. They looked like twins, except the other boys clothes were black and Links were green, his hair was a dark white while Links was a dark blond. Link eyes were also blue, and the other boys eyes glowed unnaturally red.  
" My name's...Dark Link…" The boy said.  
" What kind of a name is that.." Link stopped talking and  
realized what the boy had just said. " Dark... Link?" He repeated in a sort of shock. They were both silent and stared at each other for the longest time.  
" Nu uh.. That's not your real name.. is it..?" Link asked with a disbelieving smile. Dark Link nodded slowly. How could this be possible? How could there be a totally separate dark side of a person? Not to mention, how could there be Link, AND Dark Link, without one of them ever knowing anything about the other? " DARK Link?!" Link repeated again. " This is too weird, where did you come from?" Link asked him.  
" I don't know, it was like I just woke up from a nightmare, and I was lying against a tree holding a sword." Dark Link explained " I have no idea where the sword came from either, or why I was holding it." The boy explained. " I don't even remember anything from before I fell asleep… nothing at all." Dark Link paused staring blankly at the sword. "I was just walking around the forest for a couple of hours, and I heard voices. So I started walking through the forest and got to a busted wall, and an enormous tree on the other side. I was going to get a little closer to it, but there was a man there. He was huge too. Well, for a man. He was yelling at the tree, I though he was crazy, but then the tree argued back!" He said. Link was silent. He was still utterly shocked and puzzled by this boys arrival, but he was also concerned with what he was now telling him, He knew Dark Link was talking about the Great Deku Tree.  
" Then what did you do?" Link asked him.  
" I though I was crazy! But then I started listening to them talk. I couldn't hear very well, so when he had his back turned, I ran behind the tree and listened. The man wanted something from the tree, but the tree wouldn't give it to him. I don't remember what it was. So the man got very mad, and all of a sudden his hands were glowing in a huge ball of purple light, and he shot it at the tree. I was standing right next to it, and I could feel the shockwave after the light struck him, and the horribly loud noise that almost blew my eardrums. That's when I ran for it, I didn't want to see what would happen if that guy found me there… Then I found you." He explained. " You know, its funny, but I think I remember you from somewhere. Like a dream or something." Link remembered the dream he had, this boy looked almost like the shadow boy from his dream, he might have been. He was totally baffled. Then he remembered what the shadow Link had done in his dream. He didn't say anything. " Hey, never mind, forget it." Dark Link noticed the change in Links mood and the expression of fear on his face.  
" Uh, yeah." Link came to from his deep thought. He wanted to know more about this boy, how he got here, and why he was real. But a terrible concern for the Deku Tree weighed against what he wanted at the time. " Anyway, what did the man look like?" He asked Dark Link. " Um, he had dark skin, and really bright red hair, which was weird, and he was wearing black armor." Dark Link explained. Link thought for a minute. The man he described sounded just like the man in his dream, he was the man that was on the black horse, the one with the evil stare. Link wondered what it all meant.  
" Was he still there when you left?" Link asked him " No, well I don't think so." He answered. " Is the tree a friend of yours or something?" Dark Link asked him.  
" Not really, I've only seen him once, and that was when I was only a baby, so I don't really remember him much. He's the guardian of the forest, he protects the forest and watches over our village." Link explained. " He's also the protector of the sacred Kokiri Emerald, so I've been told." He said.  
" You know, now that I hear it again, I think that's what the man wanted from the tree. He said if he couldn't have it, then he'd curse the tree so the Hero of Time could never have it, whoever the Hero of Time is." Dark Link said. " Anyway, he's gone, and I don't think he's coming back. So.." Dark Link held out his hand. " Now that we're not terrified of one another, let's get properly introduced." He said. Link was caught slightly off guard by this notion. He was still in deep thought about everything that he had just learned, and was thinking now of running as fast as he could away from this boy to go and get Saria. He looked up from the sword still in his hand and cautiously reached out his free hand to grasp the boys.  
" Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Link" He said.  
" Hi, it's nice to meet you too, I'm.. Dark Link" Dark Link said with a snicker. " Sorry, that just sounds too weird." He said trying not to burst out laughing. " Hey I didn't name myself, and I may not remember anything about myself, but I do know that that's my name. I didn't think it was weird at all until I met you."  
" Um, OK then. Why don't you change it to something… not so weird?" Link suggested.  
" Hey, that sounds like fun, OK!" Dark Link agreed. They both thought for a minute. Link had never thought of a name for anything, and wasn't very good at it.  
" I got it! How about Dink? You know Dark link? The D, and Link? oh you get it. So how about it?" Link asked.  
" Well, it sounds like Dinky but I couldn't come up with anything, so alright. don't get hurt feelings if I only use it for a little while, I may grow out of it." He said with a grin. " So, now that that's taken care of, what you got there?" He asked Link.  
" Oh, my friend Saria asked me to find this, I don't know why, but the Deku Tree wants me to have it I guess." Link answered.  
" Oh, so Saria's your girlfriend? Dink asked.  
" No! she raised me since I was a baby after she found me in the woods." Link said back. " All Kokiri's are found in the woods as baby's, and then when they get to be about ten, they stop aging." He explained.  
" So there's a village near by? Can we go there, I'm starving" Dink asked.  
" Well, I don't think they would take to well to you. They don't like outsiders, and well, you look kinda creepy." Link told him. Dink looked a little disappointed, and Link felt sorry for him. " Well alright, if you're going to look all pitiful about it, we can go." Link finally gave in.  
" Yay!" Dink exclaimed, trying to act like an excited four year old.  
" But remember, you're DINK, not Dark Link, got it?" Link pointed his finger at him.  
" Right. From now on I shall be known as, Dink! The guy who looks creepy!" Dink said, in a deep dramatic voice. Link laughed. They had almost completely forgotten about the Deku Tree and what happened to him.  
" Ok, most of the rest of the Kokiri are friendly, but I have to warn you about Mido." Link said.  
" Who? Mido?!" Dink asked " What a wimpy name!" Dink laughed. " So who is this Mido that I should be afraid of him?".  
" Mido, he's , well he says he is, the village chief. He was jealous that I was asked to find this sword, instead of him. He said even with this sword I'd still be a wimp." Link was kind of annoyed.  
" Well, where is this Mido jerk? I'll show him who's who around here! Nobody messes with us now!" Dink growled, his sword in his hand.  
" No Dink! Its ok! Geez, He's just a bully, you don't need to do anything like that." Link was shocked at how angry Dink got, but then he calmed down afterwards. Suddenly there was a loud crash, and it echoed off the trees and sent flocks of birds swarming up into the air. Then it was silent. It was so silent in fact that it made their ears start ringing again.  
" What was that?" Dink whispered.  
" I don't know, it came from the other side of the wall." Link pointed towards the Deku Tree's meadow. They waited for a while.  
" Come on." Dink said, and began to walk quickly through the bushes, back towards where he had come from. Link wrapped the leather strap around his shoulder and fastened the buckle as he began to followed him. He had only just now wondered how Dink had even gotten through the wall, in or out. Dink now quickened his pace to a jog, and Link tried to keep up.  
" Hey, Dink. How did you.." Link began as they ran, but stopped when they reached the place that Dink had entered this side of the wall. The ground was severely disturbed, and trees were blown down all around them. But what shocked Link the most was the appearance of the wall itself. The entire section of stone bricks was blown to pieces, leaving a very large opening.  
" What, Link?" Dink asked him. Link didn't answer, he picked up a small piece of what was left of a brick.  
" Who could have been able to do this?" He asked.  
" I have no clue. It was like this when I came from the meadow, my guess is that that big red headed guy did it." Dink scoffed. Link dropped the stone onto the burnt dirt. " Come on, let's go check out that noise." Dink sighed. They continued through the opening in the wall and walked through the trees into the meadow. Link's jaw dropped.. Again.. At the sight of the tree that he hadn't seen for years. " Yup, it's a tree alright." Dink smirked when he saw the look on Link's face. It wasn't only the tree that took Link's breath, but also the enormous scorch mark on its front and a broken branch, the size of a large tree itself, lying on the ground near the Deku Tree.  
" Oh no! Deku Tree, your branch fell off!." Link said. Dink crossed his arms. The noise had been one of the Deku Tree's enormous branches breaking off and crashing to the ground below. The tree looked sickly, and his leaves seemed to be turning brown. Suddenly the tree began to move and bend over, as if looking down at them. They both jumped backwards and gasped, ready to run if the tree fell over.  
" Link?" The tree asked in a deep booming voice.  
" U-uh huh.." Link nodded slowly, still staring at the tree and shaking slightly.  
" You have grown much since I last saw you as a baby. Saria has take good care of you" The tree said to him. Link loosened up a bit. Dink however, was still in a ready-to-run stance. The Deku Tree raised one of his barky eyebrows as he noticed him. " Tell me, Dink." the tree said to him. Dink was even more surprised and didn't make a sound. " Do you yet know of how you came to be? Do you still think that you are inside your own dreams?" The tree asked.  
" Um.." Dink answered, not knowing how the tree even knew his name, or how he felt about what was going on, but expecting the tree would clue him in somehow.  
" Do you both remember the dream you had last night? The one with the white stone wall?" The tree asked them. They both nodded. Neither of them knew it, but they had both shared the same dream, and Dink had also been trying to avoid what he had done to Link in his dream.  
" As the servants of evil gain strength, a vile climate pervades the land and causes nightmares to those sensitive to it. Surely, you have felt it." The tree explained. " As a result of that dream, the evil man that Dink saw here, the same man in your dream, was able to access your mind, Link." Link's eyes became wide as he gave the tree a look of shock. " Once he had entry, he unknowingly unlocked all the evil that was bottled up inside the deepest parts of your heart. It built up until it was so whole that it became an almost completely new person. Dink, you may not like this, but you never should have came into existence, how you are only came to be by chance." The Deku Tree explained. Link and Dink both looked at each other, both very confused. Suddenly Link saw a change in Dink's expression. He was very upset at the Deku Tree.  
" You giant bark-covered waste of dirt!, what a thing to tell a ten year old kid!" Dink yelled. Link jumped at the sudden outburst. The Deku Tree didn't budge. It was almost as if he expected this reaction. " Oh I'm sorry little child, but you shouldn't be alive!" Dink continued. " Why didn't you just tell me go jump off a cliff at my earliest convenience?!" Dink mocked him. " Hey! A.S.A.P., little buddy! Don't just stand there, jump! Rid the world of yourself and correct the mistakes of nature!" Dink continued.  
" He told you that you might not like it." Link said quietly without looking at him.  
" you just shut up over there!" Dink pointed at him. Link just raised his eyebrow at him as he looked at him out of the corner of his eye. Dink stood and glared at the Deku Tree silently. After a moment to give Dink a chance to calm down, the Deku Tree continued to talk.  
" Finished?" The tree asked Dink calmly. Dink just crossed his arms and huffed as he looked away. " There is something else you both must know." He said. Dink looked back at him. " The way you have come to be, Dink, has also come with a terrible price." They both now were very interested in what he was saying and stared at him intently. " If Link is injured, or something befalls him to take his life.. the same will befall you, Dink. Your fate is tied eternally to Link's." He said seriously and solemnly. They both now were in serious thought, and Link felt especially burdened at this new knowledge. He now had an enormous responsibility, to have to take care of two separate lives at the risk of killing now not only himself if something did happen, but Dink as well.  
" OK, so what happens to Link if I do something, like, get my arm cut off, or something?" Dink asked the tree. Link couldn't help but give a quiet chuckle at Dink's response, then they were all silent for a moment. The Deku Tree was a little irritated that Dink was taking this so dismissively.  
" ..nothing.." The tree answered him just as smartly and straight to the point as Dink had asked. Dink scoffed and shook his head.  
" Man, you had better take care of yourself!" Dink said to Link. Link turned to him. " I'm serious! If I find out that you're being careless about dangerous stuff, I'll mess you up!.." Link winced and gave a nervous chuckle. Dink looked away and did the same after he realized what he had just implied. Suddenly another huge branch snapped from the tree and smashed to the ground right next to them. They both yelled and jumped.  
" YEEEOUCH! That would have hurt!" Link said as a shock induced, spur of the moment, obvious comment.  
" Link, the time has come for you to test your courage." The tree was now speaking very weakly and nervously. " The man from the desert has placed upon me a curse. You must enter the dungeons below me and destroy the great evil that resides there." The Deku Tree said. " Take this also, it is a wooden Kokiri shield, may it protect you with all its power." As he spoke, a large door opened in his trunk and a piece of bark fell off him. It suddenly transformed before their eyes into a shield with the symbol of the Kokiri emerald painted on its back. Link picked it up.  
" But.. Great Deku Tree.. I-I I can't!" Link stuttered.  
" What are you talking about, sure we can!" Dink walked up to him and put his arm around Link's shoulder.  
" If you cannot, then this forest will soon cease to exist along with all it's life, and our world will be utterly destroyed and overwhelmed by evil." The tree told them.  
" No pressure there.." Link said quietly to himself.  
" We can do it, right? You and me!" Dink said to him. He stepped in front of Link and put a hand on either of his shoulders. " Besides, I'd like to scratch some naughty words in some of his bark with my new sword." Dink whispered to him. Link crookedly and nervously grinned at him, and saw the Deku Tree raise an eyebrow and frown over Dink's shoulder. They turned and saw that it was very dark inside the tree, and a slight breeze wafted out of the opening. It smelt of a fragrant pine. They both took a deep breath and began to walk inside.  
" Link, keep a close eye on your new friend here, I sense a great evil in this boys thoughts." The Deku Tree told him.  
" Hee hee hee hee" Dink hunched over and gave Link a creepy and toothy smile over his shoulder as he rubbed his hands together, jokingly pretending to be some sort of troll or something. Link laughed under his breath at him. " We shall see you later, master" Dink turned and said to the tree in a scratchy cackling voice.  
" Hmmm." the tree frowned. Still hunched over, Dink began to limp into the doorway of the tree. Link shook his head at him with a smirk and followed him as he hooked his new shield to his sword sheath.

It was about nine o'clock in the morning of the next day, and Saria had been waiting all this time. She figured that maybe Link had camped out in the woods after it had gotten dark, but he should have been back by now. As she was sitting at her table in her house worried sick, one of the Kokiri girls came running in. " Saria! Link's back! Mido says he's leaving the forest, and you wont believe what's happened, come on!" The girl said. Saria got up and ran outside. Everyone was out and gathered together in a crowd around Mido.  
" I told you, Saria! Didn't I say he didn't belong here?! Now look what he's done! He's lucky that he left on his own before I woke up, otherwise I would have beaten the tar out of him! A Hylian has no place here and I say good riddance!" Mido yelled at her, pushing his way through the crowd.  
" Where is he?" She asked him.  
" If you're fast enough, you might be able to catch him on the bridge just outside the village." Mido answered her. " But If I was him, I'd be running so fast out of here that I'd be long gone." Mido said. Saria huffed at him and ran away from the noisy crowd to find Link. Mido crossed his arms and watched her run past the gate and out of sight. Link was standing alone at the exit to the forest.  
" Link?.." She said to him after catching her breath. She saw that he had the Kokiri Sword and a Kokiri Shield on his back, and wondered what he had been doing out in the woods all this time. Link turned around.  
" Some trip into the woods that was… I found what the Deku Tree wanted me to.." Link said quietly with his back to Saria.  
" What happened, Link?" She asked. Link put his head down.  
" ..He died" Link said quietly.  
" What?" Saria couldn't hear him.  
" The Deku Tree, he's dead. And Its all my fault." He said louder. " I couldn't save him. I tried, but I just couldn't." His voice was shaky. Saria gasped and almost stopped breathing. After a long pause, Saria walked up to him.  
" Link, it wasn't your fault. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later, he's been here for thousands of years. You shouldn't blame yourself for trying to help him." She said. Saria knew that something terrible must have happened in the forest, and she now felt an awful feeling of regret sending Link in there alone. Link assumed that she thought that he had died of natural causes, and didn't tell her otherwise.  
" Did he tell you anything before he went?" Saria asked.  
" He told me to go to the castle in Hyrule to see the princess, and she would tell me what I need to do from there. So that's what I'm doing." Link pulled from his pocket a large green stone set in a gold design. " He also gave me this." He told her. Saria stepped back and gasped to find that it was the Sacred Kokiri Emerald shimmering in his hand like a glorious star. Saria walked up to him and closed his hand over it, holding her head.  
" The time has come for you to leave this forest. I knew it would someday, but I did not expect so soon." Saria began to cry. She now knew that it was destiny that she had found him in the forest meadow that day ten years ago. It was Link who was to be the one that the Deku Tree passed the Sacred Stone of the Forest to, and Saria knew no matter how hard she tried, she could never sway the path of destiny. She had to accept that Link was leaving, and may never return. " I will miss you, Link." She looked up at him with a sigh of sadness. " Take this to the princess, if that's what the Deku Tree wanted you to do. This must be what he was talking about on the day he met you, he said you had a great destiny and would lead Hyrule to freedom one day, and it appears that day has come." Saria said, and gave him a hug. " This is your destiny, Link, but don't let your destiny keep you from your friends. Take care of yourself, and come and visit us anytime, the world is a lot different out there and you will always have friends here who love you." She said. They were both silent for a moment, and all that could be heard was the chirping of crickets on the ground below, and the singing of forest birds above.  
" Thank you, Saria, for everything.." Link finally said. " Goodbye.". Then turned around and left the forest silently. Saria watched him fade into the mist of the dark trees, heartbroken that she was now having to let him go.  
" Goodbye, Link" She said quietly. She wiped her tears and turned back into the village.  
" Well?! Where is he?!" Mido asked her when she came back through the village gate. She looked up at him with red, wet eyes.  
" He's gone.." She said quietly. All of the other Kokiri's around them gasped and began to murmur amongst themselves. Mido scoffed and turned to go back to his house. Everyone gathered around Saria to try and comfort her, some of the other girls also began to cry. Their little Hylian baby boy was grown up and gone, and they all felt a loss. But it was not goodbye forever, he would come back someday.


	3. The Truth Revealed

Chapter 3  
The Truth Revealed.

Link walked slowly and solemnly through the forest, inching further and further away from his home with every step he took. As he made his way through the towering trees and over the dark mossy surface of the forest floor, he saw that the trees began to get slightly smaller and less dark.  
" Hello!" Link was startled when Dink jumped out from behind a tree in front of him. Link scoffed and shoved Dink in the shoulder for scaring him.  
" Where have you been?" Link asked him. " I've been walking through this forest for ten minutes already!" Link said to him as he joined him in a slow walk.  
" Sorry, I had to make sure that no one followed us, you know, make sure we were all alone." Dink explained. " Hey! And check out what I got!" Dink said and turned around to show Link his back. There was another Kokiri Shield on his back also, only his was darker and the painted emblem of the Kokiri Emerald on its face was black instead of red.  
" Well, another dark and depressing addition to your already dark and depressing outfit" Link grinned.  
" So, did you see what a great hider I am? Oh wait, you couldn't see me at all!" Dink laughed. Link smiled. " Man, I was there that whole time, and she didn't see me at ALL! It was sweet." Dink was quite full of himself. But Link wasn't really listening to him. He was thinking about everything that had led up to this day. He had lived his entire life in the Kokiri village, he had never left. But he always knew that there was something more to this world. Now to be leaving everything and everyone that he had ever known, it was almost too much. " Link, hey Link!" Dink yelled at him. Link roused from his day dream and shook his head.  
" Huh, what?" Link asked him. They both stopped walking.  
" You haven't been listening to a word I've said, have you?" He asked him. Link scratched his head.  
" Sorry, I was just thinking.." Link answered, and they kept walking.  
" Yeah I know. You do that a lot, lucky for me" Dink grinned.  
" A lot has happened in the past few days." Link began. " First I over hear a strange conversation, I move out of Saria's house, I actually am asked to do something by the Great Deku Tree himself. That alone is something rare. Then I meet you, fight a ton of evil monsters and one giant creepy bug in the dungeons of the Deku Tree, the Deku Tree dies, and then I'm sent out of the forest for the first time to see a princess, of all people." Link caught his breath.  
" Wow. Yup, that's a lot." Dink stepped in front of him and began to walk backwards. " I mean, just meeting me was a lot. I hear I'm a lot to deal with, being a mischievous dark half and all." He said. " Heh, and I'm the one stuck with you!" Dink laughed as he stepped back beside Link. They walked and talked through the woods for another half an hour until they came to a large meadow.  
" Roomy" Dink said as they stepped out into the tall grass.  
" It's so much brighter out here, I don't think I've ever seen so much sun in one spot." Link said as he shielded his eyes from the sun.  
" Tell me about it. I'm really used to the dark, obviously. I notice when there's a sudden change in lighting." Dink said to him. Link stopped near the edge of the tree line and looked around. There was something familiar about everything around him, it was like a strong breeze had blown a sudden shock of familiarity into his mind, like he'd been here before, and he had. This was the meadow that he was found in as a baby, that meadow where he heard his mothers voice for the very last time. Link stood quietly, almost not daring to breath for fear of losing this feeling of remembrance. " Come on, Link! Daylight's a-waste'in " Dink said to him. Link roused from his deep thought and shook off the feeling, and they kept walking.  
" Ah, that sun feels so good." Link said as he closed his eyes and looked up with his arms spread out. " Even more so after being stuck in that cold mist for so long." He said.  
" Yup, nice and toasty" Dink replied. Soon they were on the other side of the meadow though, and had to re enter the forest for a short while. They decided to make up a game to eliminate the silence. Whoever could hit the most tree trunks before they exited the woods and could keep track of how many they hit, would be the winner. They walked quickly through the trees, touching every trunk they could as they went. Sometimes they would touch the same tree at the same time, and Dink would yell. " Hey! That one counted as mine!" they thought it better to put a bigger space between them as they ran. Soon they reached the end of the trees, and stopped in a hurry at what they saw on the other side. It was a sight that neither of them had ever seen. They thought that the forest meadow they were in earlier was large, this, however, an open space so large, that they couldn't see the other side. It was Hyrule Field, a vast green land full of rolling hills and well used trails. A warm, sweet breeze suddenly fell over them, and they took it in slowly and peacefully.  
".. Wow.." Link finally said to break the silence.  
" Yeah.. Wow" Dink replied.  
" That's a big field.." Link said  
" Yup, a very big field." Dink repeated. They were both silent again. " So, who won?" Dink turned to him and asked.  
" I don't know. How many trees did you get?" Link asked him.  
" I don't remember." Dink shrugged his shoulders. " How many did you get?" He asked Link.  
" I don't remember" Link replied and shrugged his shoulders too. " Who cares? Let's go!" He said, and took off into the field.  
" So are we racing now?!" Dink yelled after him. Link didn't hear him, but kept running. " Ugh.." Dink sighed and took off after him. Link ran as fast as he could through the grass, over the hills, and down a few trails. He took a trail until he came to a place where there were rocks scattered around in the grass. He turned off the trail and started running down a steep hill, a slope that had rocks all along it. Link tried to avoid the big ones. Paying too much attention to a large boulder off to his side, he tripped over a stick, fell, and rolled down the rest of the hill, hitting the bottom very hard.  
" Ooouuch.." He lay face down in the grass at the bottom and groaned when he finally stopped rolling. Sitting up, he felt a scrape on his elbow and picked the grass out of it.  
" Hey, are you alright?" Dink asked him. Link looked up and saw him jogging down the hill towards him.  
" Yeah, I'm fine.." Link started to say, but was interrupted by Dink.  
" H-Hey! Ouch! What the heck?!" Dink felt his elbow. He held it up to look at it, there was a fresh scrape on it identical to Link's. " Where did that come from?!" Dink yelled. Link saw the scrape and held up his elbow to see his scrape again. He saw that they were exactly the same. Dink looked up at him and saw his scrape. " Ok, that's weird." Dink said.  
" Remember what the Deku Tree said..?" Link asked him. Dink recalled what the tree had told them.  
" Yeah, that thing about us being eternally tied, or something." He said. " I though he said that just to scare us." Dink said, looking back at his elbow and rubbing it again.  
" Well it worked. Even more now that we know it's true.." Link said. Dink looked up at him.  
" Well try and be more careful next time, geez! The fun hasn't even started and I don't want to be all banged up before it does!" Dink jokingly shoved Link in the shoulder. They both looked at their elbows again just to be sure. " Hey, look at that!" Dink said quietly as he looked up from his arm and pointed behind Link. Link turned around and looked. Standing on the hill behind him was a huge brown and white animal.  
" A horse!" Link whispered. He had only ever seen a horse as a baby, and of course he didn't quite remember them, but he heard people in the village talking about them before. The horse saw them and turned to run away.  
" Come on!" Dink said and ran up the hill to follow it.  
" Dink! Wait!" Link said to him and followed. They huffed up the hill and emerged on the top. Both breathing heavily, they stopped and gazed at the sight before them. Above the hill the land flattened into a vast plain, on which were hundreds of horses of all sorts of colors. They both smiled as they saw Stallions, Mares, Foals, and Colts galloping around in the grass. Not to far from the group of horses was what they thought was a large Ranch. It was surrounded by an enormous natural wall of dirt almost all the way around it, on one side they could see a tall wooden wall, and over the dirt fence they could see a few roof tops.  
" Wow, lookout!" Dink said to him and shoved him behind a large boulder in the ground next to them.  
" What are you doing?!" Link yelled.  
" SHHHH!" Dink put his finger to his lips.  
" What are we hiding from?!" Link quieted his voice to a whisper.  
" There's someone out there!" Dink said hunkering down behind the rock next to him.  
" So! Maybe they can tell us where the castle is." Link told him.  
" We'll find it ourselves, we don't need any help!" Dink said back. " Besides, I don't like the look of 'em" Dink jerked his head towards where the horses were. Link slowly peeked his head over the rock to see the person. " What are you doing?! They'll see you!" Dink tried to stop him, but Link was already looking out.  
" Geez, Dink! It's only a girl!" Link said to him.  
" What?!" Dink asked him, and peeked his head over the rock to look also. " Hey, it's just a girl." Dink said. " Who cares! Why would we want her to help us?!" He said, and sat back down.  
" Whatever." Link sat back down next to him. " Let's just go then. We'll find the castle on our own, however long it takes, which could be days!" Link said to him and started crawling back down the hill.  
" Oh wait wait wait!" Dink said, pulling Link back by his boot. " I have a better idea." He said. Link sighed and sat back down next to him.  
" What?" Link asked him.  
" ..C'mere" Dink said with an up-to-no-good smirk. They both peeked over the rock at the girl again. " You see that girl over there?" Dink asked him, still smirking.  
" Uh, yeah." Link replied, he knew that Dink was trying to sound all sophisticated.  
" How much you wanna bet we can steal a horse right out from under her little nose?" Dink asked him. Link was shocked at this idea.  
" Well, we could. Or we could walk over there and ASK her for one!" Link rolled his eyes at him.  
" You see, it's doing things like that that won't ever get you anywhere! If you want something, you gotta grab it before someone else does!" Dink told him.  
" Dink, it's stealing! And I am NOT a thief!" Link argued with him.  
" So what! Look at all those horses out there! Do you really think she'll miss ONE?!" Dink asked him.  
" That's not the point!.." Link started to argue more, but Dink shoved his head down below the rock in mid sentence.  
" Shoot, she saw us!" He hissed as he hunched down next to him. " Alright, just stay quiet until I've got her distracted, then you go down and around this hill and grab the first horse you see. Got it?!" He explained. Link sighed in disagreement.  
" H-Hello?" They heard the girls voice on the other side of the rock. " Who's there? Is there someone there?" She said.  
" Ok, shhhh!" Dink whispered to him. Suddenly he jumped up from behind the rock. Link heard the girl gasp. " HI!" Dink said to her. Getting a better look at her, Dink saw that she was kind of cute. She was wearing a white dress with little blue designs on the edges of the sleeves and the bottom. She had long red hair and blue eyes, and wore a bright yellow handkerchief around her neck. Dink was a lot more nervous talking to her now, and spoke very fast and jumbled. " I'm Dink, what's your name? I'm from the forest, it's really dark in the forest, a lot darker than here. I like horses, do you like horses? I've never ridden a horse, have you? Of course you have. Are all those horses yours? Huh? Huh? Say something!" Dink laughed jumpily. There was a pause.  
"..hi.." The girl finally said. " I'm Malon. You like horses?!" She exclaimed. Dink sighed with relief that she didn't run away in utter terror from him.  
" They're like, my favorite animal." Dink told her. He gave a slight kick to the side and hit Link in the leg, signaling him to get moving. Link looked up at him angrily and started crawling down the hill. He heard Dink and Malon's voices become quieter and quieter as he came to the small valley between the two large hills. He walked through the bottom until he couldn't hear them at all anymore, and began walking back up the slope. As he reached the top, he looked over to where he came from and saw Dink and Malon still talking almost two hundred feet from him. He looked up and was startled to see a horse right in front of him, just staring at him.  
" Um, hey there, little fella.." He said to it awkwardly. Actually, the horse was quite large. Link slowly walked up to it, but it stepped backwards with every step forward Link took. " Come on, now! I'm not going to hurt you or anything" Link said to it. He reached forward and stuck out his hand so that the horse could smell him. He stood nervously for about a minute until the horse slowly stepped towards him and started sniffing his hand. " There, see? I'm not so bad.." Link said. The horse lifted his head back up and continued staring at him. " Um, you want some.. Uh, grass..?" Link asked the horse as he looked around for a nice tuff of grass to pick. He found a tall patch of crabgrass right in front of him and ripped out a handful. " Here you go." He reached out with the grass in his hands. The horse stepped closer to him and sniffed the grass in his hands, Link smiled and also stepped closer, and slowly reached up with his other hand to grab the horses mane while it ate the grass. He reached his hand away from its mouth after it had finished the grass and stroked its neck. " That's a good horse." Link smiled at it. He was quite proud of himself. " I got this. No problem" Link said to himself. He reached over the horse with one hand and grabbed its mane with the other. " OK.." He said, and yanked himself off the ground by the horses hair. The horse suddenly gave a " NEIGHHH!" in pain. It reared up and took off running with Link still hanging on to its mane and trying to get on its back. " Oh no! OH NO! Stop horsey! STOP!" Link screamed at it while still holding on for dear life. The horse ran towards Dink and Malon at full speed and Dink saw them over Malon's shoulder, who was still talking at the time and didn't hear anything. Dink winced and began to sweat.  
" What's wrong, Dink?" Malon asked him.  
" UM, oh.. Nothing! Absolutely nothing. I'm totally fine, why wouldn't I be?" Dink said anxiously.  
" No, I don't think you are. You're acting really weird.." She said to him. Dink kept taking glances at Link on the horse. Still coming towards them, but now in a zigzag pattern through the grass.  
" Uh, no I'm not! Why would you think I was acting weird? I'm not acting weird." Dink said. Suddenly he saw Link slip from the horse slightly. Dink grabbed his head with his hands and gasped. " NO!" He yelled. He thought Link was going to fall and be trampled by the horse.  
" WHAT?!" Malon started to turn around and look, Dink gasped and grabbed her shoulders. He quickly pulled her towards him and away from seeing Link on their would-be stolen horse. Link looked over at them as the horse turned a different direction, and saw to his shock and surprise, that Dink and Malon were kissing. Link gasped and his jaw dropped. How could Dink be kissing a girl at this time?! This was a life or death situation for him, and for that matter, Dink as well. And he wasn't even going to break the cover to save him!  
" DINK!" Link yelled at him. Malon broke free from him and turned to see who was behind her. Dink almost didn't realize what he was doing, and was in a daze with a goofy smile on his face.  
" Oh my goodness! Dink!" Malon saw Link clinging to the stallion with all his strength as the horse ran around at full speed. She turned back to Dink and shook him out of the daze he was in. " Dink, your friend needs your help!" She said to him.  
" Huh?.. OH! LINK!" He came to and ran to help Link. Malon followed him.  
" What's his name?!" Malon asked Dink while they ran.  
" Link! His name's Link! Why does it matter?!" Dink answered her. Malon almost completely stopped running when she heard his name. Dink looked behind him and saw that she had slowed down. " What are you doing?! Come on!" He yelled at her. She realized what needed to be done and kept running. They stopped right near the area where the horse had now begun to run in large circles.  
" Link! You need to jump off!" Malon said loudly and slowly so that Link could hear her.  
" WHAT?!" Link yelled back. " ARE YOU SERIOUS?! I'LL BE KILLED!" Link yelled.  
"Yeah!? Are you serious, he'll be killed!" Dink mimicked Link with the same tone.  
" No you won't! just do as I tell you!" She told him. Link's arms were now in terrible pain, and he felt like the horses hair was slipping from his grip. Malon looked over at Dink, he was grabbing his arms and doubling over in pain. " Dink?! What's wrong?!" Malon asked him. " Are you alright?!" She asked. He quickly stood back up and let go of his arm.  
" Yeah! I'm fine, help Link!" He told her. Dink was now feeling the same pain in his arms that Link was. They burned and ached, and it felt like the skin was being burned off of his hands. Malon continued to talk Link into his rescue.  
" LINK! You need to pull your feet up and put them flat on the side of the horse! Like you're going to stand on it!" She said. Link listened to her now. He took a deep breath and found the strength to pull his legs up. Once he had them firmly placed against the horse's side, he took a deep breath, ready to push off onto the ground. " JUMP!" Malon yelled. Link closed his eyes, clenched his teeth, and kicked away from the still galloping horse. Malon and Dink both watched nervously as he flew from the horse and hit the ground hard. He tumbled through the grass until he finally hit a mound of dirt and stopped.  
" Ugh.." He lay on his back with his eyes still closed and groaned as Malon and Dink came running up to him.  
" Oh my goodness! Are you okay?!" Malon asked him as she fell on her knees next to him. He opened one eye and squinted at her. He only saw her silhouette in front of the bright sun behind her.  
" I feel great.." Link moaned. Dink scoffed at him as he stood over him and crossed his arms.  
" You're crazy." He said. Malon helped him to sit up.  
" What on Earth where you doing?!" She asked him. " You could have been killed, you know?" She said. Link looked at her, and then up at Dink. Dink shook his head behind Malon's back and tried to signal him not to say anything about trying to steal a horse.  
" Um.." Link began. " I was.. Uh.." He stuttered. " Trying to.." He said. Dink butted in.  
" Trying to learn how to ride a horse!" He said. " You crazy little sucker, he was talking about horses the whole way through the field. Weren't you?" Dink stared at him and nodded his head. Link didn't want to lie to her, but he also didn't want her to think he was a thief. So he agreed.  
" Uh, yeah.." Link said to her. Malon smiled at him.  
" Well, that proves everything!" She said. Link and Dink both had very confused looks now.  
" Proves what?" Dink asked her. Malon looked back at him, then back at Link, then back at him.  
" Wha-?" She stuttered. Link and Dink knew what she was all confused about. " Y-you both.. look exactly the same almost!" She exclaimed.  
" Yeah, we're um.. Twins.." Link told her. She looked back at him.  
" Twins? Hmm" She said critically. " Sure," She said.  
" Come on." She said as she helped Link onto his feet, and started walking through the field. " Follow me." She said. Link and Dink glanced at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and followed. Malon was a safe distance in front of them, so Link thought now was a safe time to privately talk to Dink.  
" Why didn't you tell her?! We were already busted!" He asked him quietly.  
" She doesn't suspect a thing! Besides, I had it all under control." Dink told him.  
" Yeah, I saw you! Giving her a big fat kiss while I was dangling from a speeding horse trying to keep from getting my head stepped on!" Link growled at him. " You had it TOTALLY under control!" He said.  
" Listen. I only did that to try and keep her distracted.." Dink began. " And I really didn't realize that I was doing it until.. I was doing it.." He looked at the ground and scratched his head. Link scoffed. " Hey look, if it makes you feel any better, I'm sorry. Alright?" Dink stepped in front of him to stop him. He held out his hand. " Friends?" He asked. Link sighed and raised an eyebrow at him. He reached his hand out and grabbed Dink's.  
" Yeah, I guess." He slightly smiled. They kept walking through the field to wherever Malon was leading them.  
" Good. I'm glad that's over." Dink grinned.  
" Are you guys coming?" Malon yelled back at them. They now saw that she was taking them to the Ranch in the field with the dirt walls.  
" Yeah, hold your horses." Dink said back, and chuckled at his pun that he had just realized he said. Link rolled his eyes and he and Malon both laughed at him. They reached her waiting at the gate to the Ranch, which was just a very large gap in the dirt wall with a wooded sign over the top which read: Lon Lon Ranch.  
" Well, come on then!" She said to them as she ushered them through the gate and began walking beside them. They walked up a slow climbing dirt ramp covered in grass and all the way through the dirt wall on either side of them. Coming into the Ranch, there were buildings on either side of them, rather than dirt. There was a large area past the buildings that was fenced in with a large, black, wrought iron fence, and there were more horses inside it. " We mostly just keep the newborn horses and their mothers in there." Malon explained as she noticed them looking that way. They came to the fence and noticed also that there was a well used track all the way around the large oval-shaped fence perimeter. " Here is where we hold our horse races every year." Malon said. " The horse races are usually nothing too special, it's mostly just for fun. But we never drive our horses too hard, we love our horses." She said.  
" We?" Link asked her. They both looked at her waiting for an answer.  
" yeah, my dad and I silly! You didn't think that I ran this place all by myself, did you?." She told them. " We also hired a man to help us out a little. His name's Ingo, but I don't think he's here right now." She told them. Link and Dink were both confused.  
" What's a dad?" Dink asked. Malon turned and stared at them in shock.  
" What do you mean.. what's a dad?!" She exclaimed.  
" You're joking, right?" She grinned until she saw that they were both serious. Link had lived with the Kokiri since he could remember, and he never heard anything about moms or dads. Dink only knew what Link did and only had his memories, so he didn't know either. Malon was confused until she remembered what Dink had told her. " Oh, that's right!" She recalled. " You are both from the forest. I forgot." She laughed. " Well, you were raised in the forest anyway.." She said as she put her arms over the fence and looked out into the field.  
" What are you talking about? You aren't making any sense" Link said to her. Then they heard someone walking behind them. Malon turned around.  
" Daddy!" She exclaimed as she ran up to the man and hugged him. He wasn't a very tall man, and he was slightly heavy. He was wearing a red shirt that was rolled up to his elbows, and a dirty pair of blue overalls. He had a gentle and loving look on his face, which was partially covered with a bushy brown mustache and large eyebrows. He didn't have much hair on his head though. It was quite bald on the top, with a band of hair around his head. He also had what looked like a ponytail tied up in the back.  
" Hey, Malon!" He smiled and hugged her back. " Did you have a nice day today?" He asked her.  
" Oh, yes daddy!" She said, and smiled at Dink as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye.  
" Who are your friends?" Her dad asked. Malon became suddenly very excited.  
" Oh! Where are my manners?!" She said to herself. " Dad, this is Dink. He's from the forest!" She said. " Dink, this is my dad. His name is Talon" She said.  
" Very nice to meet you, Dink." Talon said as he held out his hand.  
" Yeah, it's nice to meet you too." Dink said and shook his hand. Malon then stepped slowly over to Link.  
" This is my dad, Talon." She said to Link. Then she paused. Talon and Link waited for her to introduce Link. " Dad, this is Link. He also came from the forest.." She said to him. Link held out his hand and waited for Talon to shake it. Talon just stood and stared at him, he seemed surprised to see him.  
" Um.. It's nice to meet you.. Sir.." Link said nervously. Dink looked awkwardly from Link, to Malon, to Talon, wondering what in the world was going on.  
" ..Link?" Talon finally repeated. Link didn't say anything. Talon looked into his eyes. Link began to tremble as he stared and stared. " Oh my word! It IS you!" Talon exclaimed. He grabbed Link up off the ground and hugged him tight as he shook him around. Link looked down at Dink and Malon for help, but they were both laughing.  
" I'd prefer the handshake.." Dink whispered to Malon, still both giggling. Talon set him back down. Link could see that Talon was crying.  
" Link.." He said again with a smile. Link chuckled nervously. " I just cannot believe it's really YOU! I mean, we thought we'd never see you again.." He wiped a tear from his eye. " And here you are.. At my Ranch, all grown up ten years later" He was still smiling a big, toothy smile. Link and Dink still didn't know what was going on, and Talon could see the confused looks on their faces. " You don't remember me, do you?" He asked Link. Link shook his head "no". Talon smiled and put his hand on his shoulder. " Come with me you guys." He said to them. He turned with his hand still on Links shoulder and began walking towards one of the buildings behind them. Malon and Dink followed. They entered the building on their right, and Talon shut the door behind them as they came in. " Sit down, everyone." Talon said to them as they approached a large wooden table. They all took a seat. Malon sat very close to Dink, and it made him a little nervous, but he didn't object. Everyone was silent for a moment.  
" So.. Um.. What's this all about?" Link asked him. Talon was still smiling as he began to talk.  
" Exactly how old are you, Link?" Talon asked him.  
" Uh, I'm ten." Link replied.  
" And your name is Link, right?" Talon asked. He already knew the answer, but it was just for explanation purposes.  
" ..Yeah.." Link said. Talon continued.  
" Well, I just happened to know of a certain baby boy who's name was Link, that disappeared off of the face of the Earth ten years ago." Talon said. Link and Dink both had to think about that one for a second, but then they realized what Talon was trying to tell them.  
" A-are you trying to say that.. Y-you think that I'm that same baby boy?!" Link asked him.  
" There was and still is only one person by that name in Hyrule, and I'm looking at him." Talon pointed at him.  
" So.. What you're saying is.." Dink began.  
" I'm a.." Link said quietly. " Hylian.." He finished. Dink and Malon looked at him from across the table.  
" a Hylian..?" Dink whispered to himself. " Wow.." He said.  
" I cant believe this, I just.. How can it be? How can I be.. A Hylian?" Link set his head in his hands and stared blankly into the air. They all were silent for a long time. Link felt like he had been lied to all of these years. Had Saria just not known of his true heritage when she found him? Or had she kept it from him just to keep him from leaving the forest?. Link now knew why Mido had hated him so much, he had been free from Mido's hand his whole life there, but Mido and the rest of the Kokiri were the only ones who knew it. This is what Saria had meant when she said that she always knew he would leave the forest some day, and why she didn't try to stop him. Dink didn't quite feel the same as Link did. How could he? He hadn't gone through all that Link had. He hadn't been the one found in the meadow as a baby or the one who had had the biggest secret of his life kept from him for ten years. But in a way, he did feel a loneliness, not only because he was a part of Link, but because he was his friend, and even though he was a dark being, he did feel upset that Link was so uneasy. Link finally felt the need to know more, and began to want to know things about his old, and somehow new life.  
" So, I have a, um.. A mom? And a dad then?" Link asked Talon. Dink also was naturally curious and looked up at Talon. Malon looked over at her dad, the smile faded from Talon's face when Link asked this.  
" I don't feel that I should be the one to tell you that, Link. I'm sorry." Talon replied. Malon, Dink, and Link all held their heads down.  
" So you mean, there are other people who knew us?" Dink asked. He suddenly realized what he had just said.  
" Us?" Talon was confused. They all looked at Dink, who was now a little nervous. " You know, you two do look a lot alike, now that I notice it." Talon said. " Actually.. You look almost exactly the same!" He said. He looked from Dink to Link. " Who exactly are you?" Talon asked him. Malon, Talon, and Link all stared at him.  
" I'm.. uh.." Dink started. " Uh.. His, uh.. Twin.." Dink said. He was going to say friend, but remembered that Link had already told Malon that they were twins. Talon raised an eyebrow to him.  
" Twin?" He repeated. Dink was very afraid of what would happen if they knew who he really was. " Now, I'm pretty sure that Darin and Anya didn't have two boys.." Talon thought.  
" Who?" Link asked him. Talon caught himself with a slip of the tongue, but he thought that now he had already said it, he might as well tell him about them. He almost totally forgot about himself being suspicious about Dink.  
" Uh, Yeah." He began. " Darin and Anya.. Your mother and father." Talon said. Link smiled. He really did have parents, and now was very anxious to meet them.  
" Really!? I have parents!? Where are they? Can I see them?!" Link was very excited. Talon almost began to cry again, but held it back.  
" Now, I know I let that little bit of information go, but I REALLY think that someone else should tell you the rest." Talon explained to him. Link was a little disappointed. Dink silently sighed with relief that Talon had forgotten about him, and was very quiet for the rest of their talk.  
" Can I tell him a little, daddy?" Malon asked her father. Talon looked at her, and they both seemed to be giving each other silent signals about something.  
" Um. I suppose, sweetheart" Talon said to her. Malon almost squealed with delight as she situated herself on the chair. She loved to tell stories, but to be telling something that really happened to a person that was actually involved, but didn't know it, was something she had never done.  
" Alright, I'm going to put it like a story, okay? Just so it sounds more interesting." Malon told him.  
" She's a very good storyteller, believe me." Talon smiled and leaned back in his chair, ready for the story. Dink also leaned in to hear everything, and they listened as Malon began to talk.  
" I remember the greatest horseman in Hyrule." She began. " He was brave and strong, and took care of hundreds of horses on his Ranch near the Lake. He was married to one of the most beautiful women in all of Hyrule, and they both enjoyed the company of a perfect little baby boy, that Darin was very excited to one day have take his place as Rancher. Perhaps someday, He would also take his place as the best Commander of the Kings royal army, ever." She said. Link and Dink both smiled in astonishment to learn that their father was so great. Malon continued. " His wife had no small accomplishments, either though. She helped tend to all the horses, and if no one tells you different, she was better at horse care them than Darin was. She also came to a much smaller Ranch every week to help it get on its feet as well. The little Ranch was called Lon Lon Ranch." Malon smiled.  
"Hey, that's this ranch!" Link smiled as he remembered the sign they had passed under to get here.  
"Sure is" Talon also smiled.  
" Anyway.." Malon was a little irritated that her story had been interrupted. Everyone looked back to her.  
" Sorry, Malon.." Link smiled. Malon continued her story.  
" Anya went to visit Lon Lon Ranch every week to help Talon and Mariette Lon Lon train their horses. She got a call one week to come over quickly, only this visit wasn't to help a hurt horse. This call was different. It was five days until the great battle and Darin had not been called to the castle yet. Anya readied Tyron, her favorite horse, and rode as fast as she could for our Ranch. She had been called because Mariette Lon Lon was having a baby. Anya already knew that she was going to, and she was going to come at the time that the baby arrived to be a midwife. But something was wrong. Anya arrived and immediately began to help Mariette with her baby. It was very agonizing for her, but Anya comforted her as best she could. After an hour of pain, she finally had a baby girl.." Malon was now looking very sad, and Talon himself had silent tears in his eyes as he listened. Malon continued. " Everyone was very happy about the baby, especially Mariette. Anya cleaned up the baby at a nearby table. As she wiped her face clean, she heard Mariette talk behind her.  
" Anya.." Mariette said.  
" Yes, Mariette? What is it?" Anya asked with a smile.  
" I want to name her.. Malon" Mariette said quietly.  
" Okay." Anya said as she finished wrapping the baby in a blanket. " But why don't you greet her with her name yourself" Anya turned to hand Mariette the baby girl. " Here you are." Anya said to her. Mariette didn't answer. " Mariette?" Anya tried to speak to her, but Mariette was gone. She had died doing what she had always wanted to do. She died as a mother. Anya held the girl and began to cry, she had lost her very dear friend, and she felt for the family that she had left behind. She cried as she held her lost friends child close, and wiped the tears from her face. She held up the baby. " Malon your name shall be, little daughter of Mariette Lon Lon." Anya said softly." Malon explained to them. Talon wiped his face and sighed at the remembrance of his lost wife. Link and Dink now felt differently about Malon. " You see, I never knew my mother either. And I know how you feel." She said to Link. Link stared at her thoughtfully. They were all silent for a moment.  
" So, what happened next, Malon?" Talon asked her. Malon took a breath and went on with her story, and Talon also tried to calm his feelings of sorrow to listen as well.  
" So, Anya entreated me to my father. And after the burial of my mother, she went back to her own child and husband." Malon paused for a moment. "Now, to make something clear, no one really knows exactly how these next few parts went, but there's been many tellings of the story so I'm just going to tell you what I've heard." she said. Everyone nodded quickly and quietly as Malon resumed her story. " Five days later, Darin and his friend Idien are called to the castle by the King. They journey half a day to their camp site under the old Plateau near the borders of the forest. Unbeknown to the reason they had been called, they had taken Anya and her son with them. They got up very early the next morning and rode to the castle without waking Anya or Darin's son, and after the long horse ride to Castle Town, they got to the castle and had a meeting with the King. They discovered that what was then called the Western Provinces had declared a sudden and fierce battle on the Kingdom. A war had been raging between the Kingdom of Hyrule and the Western provinces already, but all the battles had been to the far north and east of this area of Hyrule until now. The enemy was already marching to battle when Darin and Idien had left their tent that morning, and Darin learned that their huge army would be passing directly through the area of the Plateau that Anya and her son were still asleep in." She explained. Everyone was now staring at her in great anticipation. Malon continued. " Darin left the meeting quickly and rode for an hour back to his tent. He woke Anya and his son and put them on Tyron to send them to the safety of the Forest Provinces. By this time, I'm sure they could see the approaching force rising over the hills to the west, so Anya and Darin said their goodbyes, and Darin kissed his son farewell. She took off towards the forest trail and entered the forest wall as Darin rode back to the Castle and reached it to find that Idien and the King, along with the other high ranking officers, had already assembled an army in front of the wall. Their were Zoran and Gerudo Archers atop the wall, large strong lines of Goron soldiers, many legions of Gerudo Horseback Archers, and the most proud force of Hylian knights and soldiers that Darin had ever seen. He told Idien and the King that his family was safe, and they waited for the sound off to call them into the battle. As the Army of Hyrule awaited their fate, Anya had entered the clearing of a forest meadow." Malon said to them. Link brought to recollection the Meadow in the forest that he and Dink had walked through earlier this morning, and wondered if that was the same meadow that Malon was talking about. Malon continued. " The King had sent a messenger to alert the Forest Provinces of the battle, but Anya discovered as she cautiously continued through the meadow, that the messenger had never made it that far. She found the Hylian soldier lying dead in the grass in the middle of the clearing. She did not know that it was a messenger from the King, and she didn't really care who it was at the time, all she knew is that the killers could still be lurking about. Frightened, she pushed Tyron to a full charge through the meadow." Malon paused and looked at Link, then to her father. Her story had been a great one until now, now that she had reached a part that was not hers nor her fathers to tell.  
" Yeah, and?" Dink wanted her to continue on. She hesitated.  
" Um," Malon began. " Yeah, she kept riding through the field. She never did make it to the Forest Provinces, though. Most people figure that she headed to the Kokiri Village and gave her baby to them to keep him safe. But no one really knows." Malon said. Talon nodded at her and agreed.  
" Why didn't she ever come back to get me then?" Link asked her. Malon looked at him and tried to come up with an answer.  
" Well.. I guess the dark magic of the forest kept her from entering the village." Malon replied. That answer really didn't make any sense to Link, but he didn't argue. He did feel that she was leaving out a big part of the story, but he just didn't know what. " Anyway.. Back at the battle field, the King had shouted for his force to charge into battle. It raged on for an hour, they were horribly outnumbered, but they fought as well as they ever could. It wasn't enough though it seems, they were at the brink of defeat, and the King feared that he was soon to lose his Kingdom forever. All seemed lost until they heard a cry from atop the wall. A cry that pulled their hopes from the deep pit of despair and sent them soaring. The Forest Provinces, with their vast numbers of knights on horseback and skilled swordsmen, emerged from the forest wall and charged with all speed to the Kings aid and to the aid of Hyrule. Within half an hour, they had destroyed the remaining enemy force and had driven off the survivors into the harshness of the dry, unforgiving Gerudo Desert. They won their freedom that day, and had ended the long era of the Great War." Malon and everyone else at the table smiled at that thought. Link wondered what had happened to Darin, his Father. Had he been lost in battle? Or had he gone on with his friend Idien and the King into victory? They all listened as Malon finished her story. " Darin, Idien, and the King, enjoyed the triumph of the Kingdom of Hyrule and the new found freedom of its people. Anya met up with Darin after the war, and they now stay together forever." Malon was still smiling. It was not a joyful smile, but a sad and loving smile. Link and Dink sat and though about the long story they had just heard. Link's parents were great people. The fact that he even had parents was a thought to ponder, now that he knew he wasn't a Kokiri. They were both still very thoughtful about everything he had done today, and Link was overwhelmed with excitement at the thought of meeting his real parents. About two hours had gone by, and they could see the sun through the window about to go behind a tall mountain.  
" It's getting late daddy, should I make some supper?" Malon got up from her chair and asked. Link looked out at the setting sun and saw the night sky beginning to cover the field, and remembered the reason he had come this way. They still had to get to the castle.  
" Well, it was very nice talking to both of you, and thank you for everything." Link said. " But we were headed for Castle Town, and should probably keep going that way." He said.  
" Nonsense!" Talon said to them. " It is at least an hour and a half's journey to the castle from here, and thats on horseback. And besides the point, I absolutely insist that the both of you stay the night!" Talon smiled. " it would be an honor to have Darin's son stay at my Ranch." Link looked at Dink, who looked at Malon, and then back at Link. He gave a smirk of approval and nodded.  
" Well, I suppose." Link grinned back at Talon.  
" Great! I'll make something good!" Malon giggled.  
" And if you're both heading for Castle Town, I'm going there myself tomorrow to deliver some milk to the Royal Family. I can give you both a ride, if you want. How does that sound?" Talon asked.  
" That would be great! Wouldn't it, Dink?" Link asked.  
" Yeah, great." Dink smiled.

CHAPTER4  
A Destiny for the Better  
And  
A Destiny for the Worse

Later that night, everyone had had a nice supper and more great conversations about everything that had gone on that day. It was about midnight and Malon, Talon, and Link were all asleep. Dink, however, just couldn't seem to fall asleep and got up to go outside. He quietly shut the door behind him and stepped out into the starlight. Gazing up into the glittering dark, he began to think about how the rest of his life would be. He had heard Link's story, and knew that whatever awaited him in that castle was something great. But what about him.. All he was, was Link's dark half, he wasn't even supposed to exist. Would he ever feel really happy about his life? Or would he always feel this fear and hatred inside him. He didn't know what he hated, or why he hated it. But he always seemed to feel this bubbling anger building up inside him, just waiting to be set loose on whoever unleashed it. He did know what he was afraid of, though, and he would always be afraid of it. Death. Not just the thought of dying, but the thought of being tied to someone else's fate. To just be as healthy as can be, somewhere doing his own thing, and suddenly somewhere Link is pushed off a cliff.. And that would be the end. Dink shivered and sat on the ground beside the house. He had mixed feelings of terror and anger. Just today, he had to hide from Link's friend, lie to a girl about who he was, and then lie to her father about who he was. He could not tell anyone anything about himself, and he hated the thought of being alone.  
" This is what it's like to be someone's evil half.." Dink thought aloud to himself, and looked up at Link's window. " The Deku Tree said you had a great destiny.. One for the better of Hyrule.. Does that mean mine will be for the worse?.." He asked. " I can't live this way.." He said. He got up and began walking towards the Ranch gate. He turned and looked back up at the two-story house. He thought about Link and Malon, still sound asleep. They would wake up to find him gone and never know where he went or why. He smiled as he remembered the kiss that he had stolen from Malon, and the time that he and Link had spent together as new friends. They had battled monsters together, and discovered new things about their past. He now had to put that all behind him. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life worrying about what might happen to Link and always keeping Link away from anything risky. If something was going to happen, he was just going to let it happen. He didn't' want to worry about it. He sighed and turned away from the house and down the dirt ramp, gone out of Link's life.. For now.

The next morning, Talon awoke early to load the milk onto the wagon. He made a large breakfast of eggs, bread, jam, and ice cold milk, and called the kids down to eat.  
" Good morning young farmers!" Talon said to Link and Malon.  
" Good morning, Mr. Lon Lon." Link yawned.  
" Please, call me Talon." Talon smiled at him. Link smiled and nodded.  
" Morning, Daddy, or are you going to tell me to call you Talon, too?" Malon laughed. Talon chuckled at her.  
" Very funny, Malon. But when it comes to my own daughter, I prefer "Daddy" He said. Malon gave her dad a hug and laughed.  
" Oh goody! Eggs and bread! My favorite!" Malon giggled as she turned and saw the table. She sat down and waited for everyone else. " This is a rare thing, Daddy." She said. Talon turned from the stove and looked at her. " usually I'm the one up early and making breakfast." She smiled. Talon and Link both laughed.  
" Well, it is also a rare thing to find a long lost child appear on your doorstep. I figured one rare thing deserves another, right?" He said with a smile as he looked at Link. Malon giggled.  
" Well, we're all ready to eat, but where is your friend, Dink? Does he usually sleep all day?" Talon asked Link. Link looked up the stairs, expecting Dink to come running down at the smell of food, but he couldn't hear any noise coming from up there.  
" I'll go wake him up." Link said as he got up from the table and trotted up the stairs.  
" Dink.. Such an odd name. Such an odd boy too, though." Talon said to Malon as Link entered the upstairs.  
" Well I like him.." Malon said.  
" Do you now?" Talon smiled at her. Malon blushed bright pink and stared down at her plate, trying to hide her smile from her father.  
" Dink, breakfast!" Link said as he knocked on Dink's door. There was no answer. Link opened the door and looked at Dink's bed, the blankets were bunched up and he couldn't see Dink's head from behind them. He also couldn't tell whether or not Dink was even under them, they were so poofy. " Dink, can't you smell that? It's breakfast time, come on, get up!" Link walked over to the bed and yanked off the blankets. He was shocked to find that Dink wasn't there, the bed was empty. Link looked around the room and ran back down the stairs. Malon and Talon both looked up at him as he stepped off the stairs.  
" Well, where is the sleepy head?" Malon asked him.  
" Um, I think maybe he got up really early and went outside." Link said to them. They both looked at him awkwardly.  
" He wasn't in bed?" Talon asked him. Link shook his head. " Well, I got up at about five o' clock this morning, and I didn't see him. Maybe he snuck past me when I had my back turned." Talon looked at Malon, who shrugged her shoulders and nodded.  
" Yeah, he's really good at things like that. I'll go look outside." Link said, and ran to the door.  
" Wait!" Malon got up and walked over to him, grabbing a shawl from a hook next to the door. " I'll come and help look." She said.  
" Okay, come on." Link opened the door and walked out.  
" Be right back, Daddy!" Malon smiled and waved at her father.  
" Hurry back, it'll get cold!" Talon yelled as she shut the door behind them.  
" DINK!" Link shouted. They both stood at the door and looked around as Link's voice echoed through the Ranch. The air was crisp and a little chilly, but the sun was bright and warm. There were large patches of fog floating smoothly over the large fenced area to their left, and steam began to rise from the dewy rooftops of the barn and chicken coop.  
" DIIINK!" Malon yelled. " Where in the world could that boy be?" She said. Malon walked across the path and to the second building, Link stood and continued to scope the area. Malon opened the door to the building which was the stable for their horses, and called for Dink. " Dink? Are you in here?" She asked. There was no answer. " Hey, Link." Malon peeked her head from behind the open door. " Come here, I want to show you some one." She said.  
" What about Dink?" Link asked her.  
" Oh, he couldn't have gone far. He probably heard us yelling, maybe he'll show up." She smiled. " Come here.." She said again. Link took one last look around the field and the fence and walked over to the building. Malon stepped inside and waited for Link to come in after her. She shut the door behind them and walked over to a stall near the large door for the horses. She peeked over the door to the stall and waved Link over. Link walked over to the stall and looked at what was in it. It was a small, brownish-red foal, with a beautiful white mane and tail. It had black rings around all four legs and its face. After the rings, the rest was white.  
" Nice horse." Link said. Malon smiled.  
" Her name is Epona." Malon told him. " And she's not just a nice horse.." Malon said. Link looked at her. " This is Tyron's daughter." She smiled at him.  
" Tyron, my mother's horse? This is his daughter?" Link smiled, he was shocked but very excited to hear this.  
" Yep, I forgot to tell you last night that after.. Um.." Malon caught herself about to tell him that his parents were dead. Link waited for her to finish her sentence.  
" After what? What happened?" Link asked her. Malon wasn't going to lie to him, but she wasn't going to tell him about them either.  
" Well, let's just say that Tyron's line has been in your dad's family for over a hundred and eighty years. I figure that his line should stay in your father's family." She said.  
" What are you saying?" Link asked her.  
" What I'm saying is, Epona is yours now." She smiled at him. Link was very excited, and he looked like he was going to explode.  
" Really?!" Link said quietly and almost squeaky. Malon giggled at him.  
" Yes, really." She laughed. Link suddenly remembered Talon.  
" B-but what about your dad?" He asked her.  
" Oh, don't worry about him. Epona is mine, well, was mine." She said. " He actually wanted me to give her to you last night, but it got too late." She smiled. Link was once again jumpy with excitement.  
" She's so small." Link smiled.  
" She's only three weeks old. You want to see her daddy?" Malon asked him.  
" Y-you have Tyron here?!" Link stepped away from the stall. " He's here?" He repeated.  
" Yep. Idien, um.. Let us borrow him.." Malon told him. Actually, after Idien had left Anya and Darin's Ranch, he had given all their horses to Talon. Including Tyron. But Malon wasn't going to tell Link that. " Anyway. He's over here.." She said, and walked over to a stall across the building where there stood a magnificent brown stallion. " Here he is." She smiled and patted the horses face. Link gazed at the enormous horse and imagined his mother riding him, galloping through the field, wind blowing through her hair. The horse lifted its head quickly and whinnied when he saw Link. Link smiled and touched the horses nose. It stepped forward and nudged Links face, he seemed to be very happy to see him. " I think he likes you." Malon giggled. " Maybe he remembers you." She said.  
" Really? You think he does?" Link asked her.  
" Sure. I think horses have good memories." She said. " Talk to him." She told him. Link turned back to the horse.  
" Um, hi Tyron.." Link said awkwardly. The horse lifted his head and whinnied again. Malon giggled.  
" Keep talking, I think he likes your voice." She said. Link smiled.  
" Hey, boy! Do you remember me? It's me, Link" He said. Tyron was very excited, and started licking Link's face. " Oh, that's sick." Link laughed and tried to step away from the horse. Malon kept giggling as she watched.  
" I've never seen him this happy" She said. " Here, give him a carrot." She said as she handed Link a long, fat carrot out of a bucked. Link took it and held it out to the horse.  
" Here you go, take it!" Link was still trying to avoid Tyron's huge tongue. Tyron backed off and almost inhaled the vegetable from Link's hand. " Wow, he was hungry." Link said. Tyron finished eating the carrot and sighed. He kept staring at Link. Link saw the horses big brown eyes, they seemed sad, but happy. " You are my parents favorite horse." Link said quietly. Malon looked at him and felt very sad for him, she wished she could tell him the truth. They were both silent for a moment.  
" We should see if Dink is back yet.." Malon finally said. Link looked at her, and then back at the horse.  
" Yeah.." He said. " So long, boy." Link patted the horses nose again. Tyron stared at him as they walked away from his stall. They stopped by Epona's stall as they walked out, she was now awake and stared up at them. She also had big, beautiful, brown eyes. " See you later, Epona" Link said to her.  
" Goodbye, girl." Malon said as they walked away. Link turned and took a last look at Tyron, who was still gazing at him sadly. Link sighed and walked out the door after Malon. She shut the door behind them.  
" I still don't see him anywhere.." Link said. Malon stepped beside him. " DINK!" Link yelled again for him. There was still no answer.  
" Maybe he's already inside. Come on." Malon said, and walked back to the house. She opened to door to see that Talon was still sitting at the table waiting for them. But Dink wasn't there.  
" No luck?" Talon asked them.  
" No." Malon replied.  
" He's not in here yet?" Link asked him. Talon shook his head.  
" Nope. No one's come in or out since you two left." Talon told him.  
" Okay, this is staring to get serious.." Malon was getting worried now. " Where could he have gone?" She thought aloud.  
" We'll all go and look for him." Talon said. " But after breakfast. He couldn't have gone far." Talon said. " Now come and eat." He said. They both sighed and sat back down at the table. After breakfast, they all piled into Talon's wagon to leave. " We'll make a circle around the corral and along the wall and keep our eyes out, then we'll stop by the cow stables and take a peek. Okay?" Talon told them as he took up the reigns to the team and turned his head back towards them. They nodded their heads.  
" HIPPIP!" Talon shook the reigns and shouted. The team started to pull the wagon and it jerked forwards. Link gasped and grabbed hold of its edge, he had never been in a wagon before, and was a little nervous. " You okay back there?" Talon asked them.  
" Yeah, we're fine." Malon said. She looked over at Link, who grinned slightly with a worried look. " Don't worry, wagons are very safe, especially when my dad's driving, he's the best." Malon told him. They heard Talon chuckle in the front of the wagon. Link laughed. They drove around the horse track all the way to the other side where the cow stables were built into the dirt wall. Talon stopped the wagon and jumped off. Malon and Link followed, both very anxious and hopeful to find Dink just sitting on a crate in there. They walked over to the door and waited for Talon to unlock it. Then they realized, if it was locked Dink couldn't even get in. they all sighed in disappointment and turned back to the wagon. Malon was very worried, and looked like she was going to cry when they sat back down on the seats in the wagon and it started to move again. Link stared out of the window opening in the wagon as they rolled along. Where could Dink be? Why would he leave like this? They finished their encircling of the oval fence and began to ride towards the Ranch gate and out into Hyrule Field. Malon and Link both gazed out of the back of the wagon over the milk crates and took one last quick look around the Ranch, keeping a close watch for Dink, but they didn't see him anywhere.  
" So.." Malon tried to start a conversation. She hated the tense silence. " How long have you known Dink?" She asked him. Link turned his gaze from the back of the wagon and looked at her as they left the dirt ramp and entered Hyrule Field.  
" Only about a day.." Link told her. Malon was surprised.  
" Really? You both seemed like you've known each other for years." Malon said. Link began to think about that. Maybe he had known Dink for years. Maybe every time he got angry, or felt fear, or felt hate. That was Dink. Dink was everything evil about Link, everything dark and frightening. Maybe that's why Dink seemed to know him so well. " How did you meet him?" Malon asked him. Link remembered yesterday morning in the woods.  
" In the forest. I was sent to get something for Saria.. My.." Link thought about what exactly Saria was to him, now. A guardian? A foster mother? Or just a friend. Malon waited for him to finish. " My friend." He said. " I met him while I was getting something for a friend in the woods. He was just running through the trees, and he popped out of the bushes in front of me." Link laughed. " We saw each other and screamed, we were so jumpy." Link smiled. Malon chuckled at the thought. " We hid behind the trees from each other and started asking each other's name's. Neither of us wanted to say ours first.. I finally stepped out and told him mine.." Link said.  
" What a shock it must have been to see that you both looked so much alike." Malon said. Link gasped and realized what he had just told her. He had just admitted that they had been lying about being twins, and Malon knew it. She raised an eyebrow to him. He turned his head away from her to hide his guilty expression. She didn't seem to mad, though. " Don't worry about it." She said to him. He turned back to her. " I knew from the start that you two weren't twins. It wasn't a big secret that your mom didn't have two sons, and I knew it as soon as Dink told me your name." She said.  
" Sorry we lied to you.." Link apologized. Malon sighed.  
" To be totally truthful with you, we haven't been telling you the entire story, either." She told him. Link wondered what she was talking about. " But my dad meant what he said when he told you that someone else will tell you the rest. It's not either of our places to tell you the whole truth." She said. Link thought about it. She may not have been totally truthful with him, but at least he knew he would learn the truth sooner or later. But the secret that he and Dink had held could only be told by them, and since he knew that the truth would eventually be told to him, he would have to tell the truth concerning him and Dink.  
" I suppose I should tell you the truth about Dink and I. Since our story's been proven a lie." Link said. He paused, and all that could be heard was the creaking of the wagon and the trotting of the horses hooves on the dirt as they continued to ride towards Castle Town. " Dink.." Link began. He wondered about the best way to break this kind of news. " Dink is my.. Um.." He paused again. " Dark.. Half.." Link finally told her. Malon glanced at him awkwardly, wondering if he had said what she thought he had said.  
" Dark half..?" Malon repeated. She looked a little frightened. Link nodded.  
" He's your dark half?" She asked again. She was very confused and stared blankly into space pondering what "dark half" could possibly mean. " Like, literally or figuratively? I mean, he's not really YOUR dark half, he's just like, your look alike that causes a lot of trouble, right?" She asked him. Link shook his head.  
" No.. he's literally MY dark half. The evil part of ME.." Link said. " He's the image of the hate, fear, and anger in my heart. He's everything dark that has built up in the back of my mind." Link said. It seemed like he was almost explaining all this to himself. Even he didn't quite yet understand everything about Dink. He remembered the time they were walking through the forest and Dink showed him his new Kokiri shield. He had also noticed, he just remembered, that Dink had also had what looked like the Sacred Kokiri Sword strapped to his back as well, only his was black. Was Dink acquiring every item that he himself was? Was he really that much a part of him that even his possessions were duplicated with evil incarnations? Malon was still in wonder at what Link had just told her about Dink.  
" wow.." She said to herself. " This sort of thing must not happen every day. I mean sure, I've seen my share of fairy's, magic, and strange creatures of all kinds. But this.. I'm sure even the Great Fairy's throughout Hyrule would be shocked." Malon said. " How did this happen?" Malon asked him. Link remembered what exactly the Great Deku Tree had told them about how Dink was created, and what he had said about the dark man from the desert. That man was real and he was out there somewhere, Link didn't want to tell Malon about that man.  
" Um, someone told us that.. Somehow, while I was dreaming some kind of dark power had gotten into my head and given me a look into the near future. But while it was inside my mind, it accidentally unlocked all the evil and darkness in my heart and made it so complete that it was almost a totally different person. But not all the way, Dink is still tied to me in some ways.." Link told her.  
" In what ways?" Malon wondered.  
" Well.." Link began. He took a glance at his now scabbed elbow and remembered how Dink soon was also cut after he got scraped. " We share the same injuries, every bruise and scrape.. Even and especially fatal ones " Link told her.  
" So.. If you, um.. Die. Then, Dink.. He dies too? Soon after you, right? Is that how it works?" Malon wondered.  
" Yeah.." He replied.  
" That's an awful thought.." Malon said quietly. They were all silent for the rest of the trip. Link kept his eye out for Dink along the way, hoping that maybe he might somehow find him just walking alone through the grass as they passed, but he never saw him.


	4. Destiny for the Better or for the Worse

CHAPTER4  
A Destiny for the Better  
And  
A Destiny for the Worse

Later that night, everyone had had a nice supper and more great conversations about everything that had gone on that day. It was about midnight and Malon, Talon, and Link were all asleep. Dink, however, just couldn't seem to fall asleep and got up to go outside. He quietly shut the door behind him and stepped out into the starlight. Gazing up into the glittering dark, he began to think about how the rest of his life would be. He had heard Link's story, and knew that whatever awaited him in that castle was something great. But what about him.. All he was, was Link's dark half, he wasn't even supposed to exist. Would he ever feel really happy about his life? Or would he always feel this fear and hatred inside him. He didn't know what he hated, or why he hated it. But he always seemed to feel this bubbling anger building up inside him, just waiting to be set loose on whoever unleashed it. He did know what he was afraid of, though, and he would always be afraid of it. Death. Not just the thought of dying, but the thought of being tied to someone else's fate. To just be as healthy as can be, somewhere doing his own thing, and suddenly somewhere Link is pushed off a cliff.. And that would be the end. Dink shivered and sat on the ground beside the house. He had mixed feelings of terror and anger. Just today, he had to hide from Link's friend, lie to a girl about who he was, and then lie to her father about who he was. He could not tell anyone anything about himself, and he hated the thought of being alone.  
" This is what it's like to be someone's evil half.." Dink thought aloud to himself, and looked up at Link's window. " The Deku Tree said you had a great destiny.. One for the better of Hyrule.. Does that mean mine will be for the worse?.." He asked. " I can't live this way.." He said. He got up and began walking towards the Ranch gate. He turned and looked back up at the two-story house. He thought about Link and Malon, still sound asleep. They would wake up to find him gone and never know where he went or why. He smiled as he remembered the kiss that he had stolen from Malon, and the time that he and Link had spent together as new friends. They had battled monsters together, and discovered new things about their past. He now had to put that all behind him. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life worrying about what might happen to Link and always keeping Link away from anything risky. If something was going to happen, he was just going to let it happen. He didn't' want to worry about it. He sighed and turned away from the house and down the dirt ramp, gone out of Link's life.. For now.

The next morning, Talon awoke early to load the milk onto the wagon. He made a large breakfast of eggs, bread, jam, and ice cold milk, and called the kids down to eat.  
" Good morning young farmers!" Talon said to Link and Malon.  
" Good morning, Mr. Lon Lon." Link yawned.  
" Please, call me Talon." Talon smiled at him. Link smiled and nodded.  
" Morning, Daddy, or are you going to tell me to call you Talon, too?" Malon laughed. Talon chuckled at her.  
" Very funny, Malon. But when it comes to my own daughter, I prefer "Daddy" He said. Malon gave her dad a hug and laughed.  
" Oh goody! Eggs and bread! My favorite!" Malon giggled as she turned and saw the table. She sat down and waited for everyone else. " This is a rare thing, Daddy." She said. Talon turned from the stove and looked at her. " usually I'm the one up early and making breakfast." She smiled. Talon and Link both laughed.  
" Well, it is also a rare thing to find a long lost child appear on your doorstep. I figured one rare thing deserves another, right?" He said with a smile as he looked at Link. Malon giggled.  
" Well, we're all ready to eat, but where is your friend, Dink? Does he usually sleep all day?" Talon asked Link. Link looked up the stairs, expecting Dink to come running down at the smell of food, but he couldn't hear any noise coming from up there.  
" I'll go wake him up." Link said as he got up from the table and trotted up the stairs.  
" Dink.. Such an odd name. Such an odd boy too, though." Talon said to Malon as Link entered the upstairs.  
" Well I like him.." Malon said.  
" Do you now?" Talon smiled at her. Malon blushed bright pink and stared down at her plate, trying to hide her smile from her father.  
" Dink, breakfast!" Link said as he knocked on Dink's door. There was no answer. Link opened the door and looked at Dink's bed, the blankets were bunched up and he couldn't see Dink's head from behind them. He also couldn't tell whether or not Dink was even under them, they were so poofy. " Dink, can't you smell that? It's breakfast time, come on, get up!" Link walked over to the bed and yanked off the blankets. He was shocked to find that Dink wasn't there, the bed was empty. Link looked around the room and ran back down the stairs. Malon and Talon both looked up at him as he stepped off the stairs.  
" Well, where is the sleepy head?" Malon asked him.  
" Um, I think maybe he got up really early and went outside." Link said to them. They both looked at him awkwardly.  
" He wasn't in bed?" Talon asked him. Link shook his head. " Well, I got up at about five o' clock this morning, and I didn't see him. Maybe he snuck past me when I had my back turned." Talon looked at Malon, who shrugged her shoulders and nodded.  
" Yeah, he's really good at things like that. I'll go look outside." Link said, and ran to the door.  
" Wait!" Malon got up and walked over to him, grabbing a shawl from a hook next to the door. " I'll come and help look." She said.  
" Okay, come on." Link opened the door and walked out.  
" Be right back, Daddy!" Malon smiled and waved at her father.  
" Hurry back, it'll get cold!" Talon yelled as she shut the door behind them.  
" DINK!" Link shouted. They both stood at the door and looked around as Link's voice echoed through the Ranch. The air was crisp and a little chilly, but the sun was bright and warm. There were large patches of fog floating smoothly over the large fenced area to their left, and steam began to rise from the dewy rooftops of the barn and chicken coop.  
" DIIINK!" Malon yelled. " Where in the world could that boy be?" She said. Malon walked across the path and to the second building, Link stood and continued to scope the area. Malon opened the door to the building which was the stable for their horses, and called for Dink. " Dink? Are you in here?" She asked. There was no answer. " Hey, Link." Malon peeked her head from behind the open door. " Come here, I want to show you some one." She said.  
" What about Dink?" Link asked her.  
" Oh, he couldn't have gone far. He probably heard us yelling, maybe he'll show up." She smiled. " Come here.." She said again. Link took one last look around the field and the fence and walked over to the building. Malon stepped inside and waited for Link to come in after her. She shut the door behind them and walked over to a stall near the large door for the horses. She peeked over the door to the stall and waved Link over. Link walked over to the stall and looked at what was in it. It was a small, brownish-red foal, with a beautiful white mane and tail. It had black rings around all four legs and its face. After the rings, the rest was white.  
" Nice horse." Link said. Malon smiled.  
" Her name is Epona." Malon told him. " And she's not just a nice horse.." Malon said. Link looked at her. " This is Tyron's daughter." She smiled at him.  
" Tyron, my mother's horse? This is his daughter?" Link smiled, he was shocked but very excited to hear this.  
" Yep, I forgot to tell you last night that after.. Um.." Malon caught herself about to tell him that his parents were dead. Link waited for her to finish her sentence.  
" After what? What happened?" Link asked her. Malon wasn't going to lie to him, but she wasn't going to tell him about them either.  
" Well, let's just say that Tyron's line has been in your dad's family for over a hundred and eighty years. I figure that his line should stay in your father's family." She said.  
" What are you saying?" Link asked her.  
" What I'm saying is, Epona is yours now." She smiled at him. Link was very excited, and he looked like he was going to explode.  
" Really?!" Link said quietly and almost squeaky. Malon giggled at him.  
" Yes, really." She laughed. Link suddenly remembered Talon.  
" B-but what about your dad?" He asked her.  
" Oh, don't worry about him. Epona is mine, well, was mine." She said. " He actually wanted me to give her to you last night, but it got too late." She smiled. Link was once again jumpy with excitement.  
" She's so small." Link smiled.  
" She's only three weeks old. You want to see her daddy?" Malon asked him.  
" Y-you have Tyron here?!" Link stepped away from the stall. " He's here?" He repeated.  
" Yep. Idien, um.. Let us borrow him.." Malon told him. Actually, after Idien had left Anya and Darin's Ranch, he had given all their horses to Talon. Including Tyron. But Malon wasn't going to tell Link that. " Anyway. He's over here.." She said, and walked over to a stall across the building where there stood a magnificent brown stallion. " Here he is." She smiled and patted the horses face. Link gazed at the enormous horse and imagined his mother riding him, galloping through the field, wind blowing through her hair. The horse lifted its head quickly and whinnied when he saw Link. Link smiled and touched the horses nose. It stepped forward and nudged Links face, he seemed to be very happy to see him. " I think he likes you." Malon giggled. " Maybe he remembers you." She said.  
" Really? You think he does?" Link asked her.  
" Sure. I think horses have good memories." She said. " Talk to him." She told him. Link turned back to the horse.  
" Um, hi Tyron.." Link said awkwardly. The horse lifted his head and whinnied again. Malon giggled.  
" Keep talking, I think he likes your voice." She said. Link smiled.  
" Hey, boy! Do you remember me? It's me, Link" He said. Tyron was very excited, and started licking Link's face. " Oh, that's sick." Link laughed and tried to step away from the horse. Malon kept giggling as she watched.  
" I've never seen him this happy" She said. " Here, give him a carrot." She said as she handed Link a long, fat carrot out of a bucked. Link took it and held it out to the horse.  
" Here you go, take it!" Link was still trying to avoid Tyron's huge tongue. Tyron backed off and almost inhaled the vegetable from Link's hand. " Wow, he was hungry." Link said. Tyron finished eating the carrot and sighed. He kept staring at Link. Link saw the horses big brown eyes, they seemed sad, but happy. " You are my parents favorite horse." Link said quietly. Malon looked at him and felt very sad for him, she wished she could tell him the truth. They were both silent for a moment.  
" We should see if Dink is back yet.." Malon finally said. Link looked at her, and then back at the horse.  
" Yeah.." He said. " So long, boy." Link patted the horses nose again. Tyron stared at him as they walked away from his stall. They stopped by Epona's stall as they walked out, she was now awake and stared up at them. She also had big, beautiful, brown eyes. " See you later, Epona" Link said to her.  
" Goodbye, girl." Malon said as they walked away. Link turned and took a last look at Tyron, who was still gazing at him sadly. Link sighed and walked out the door after Malon. She shut the door behind them.  
" I still don't see him anywhere.." Link said. Malon stepped beside him. " DINK!" Link yelled again for him. There was still no answer.  
" Maybe he's already inside. Come on." Malon said, and walked back to the house. She opened to door to see that Talon was still sitting at the table waiting for them. But Dink wasn't there.  
" No luck?" Talon asked them.  
" No." Malon replied.  
" He's not in here yet?" Link asked him. Talon shook his head.  
" Nope. No one's come in or out since you two left." Talon told him.  
" Okay, this is staring to get serious.." Malon was getting worried now. " Where could he have gone?" She thought aloud.  
" We'll all go and look for him." Talon said. " But after breakfast. He couldn't have gone far." Talon said. " Now come and eat." He said. They both sighed and sat back down at the table. After breakfast, they all piled into Talon's wagon to leave. " We'll make a circle around the corral and along the wall and keep our eyes out, then we'll stop by the cow stables and take a peek. Okay?" Talon told them as he took up the reigns to the team and turned his head back towards them. They nodded their heads.  
" HIPPIP!" Talon shook the reigns and shouted. The team started to pull the wagon and it jerked forwards. Link gasped and grabbed hold of its edge, he had never been in a wagon before, and was a little nervous. " You okay back there?" Talon asked them.  
" Yeah, we're fine." Malon said. She looked over at Link, who grinned slightly with a worried look. " Don't worry, wagons are very safe, especially when my dad's driving, he's the best." Malon told him. They heard Talon chuckle in the front of the wagon. Link laughed. They drove around the horse track all the way to the other side where the cow stables were built into the dirt wall. Talon stopped the wagon and jumped off. Malon and Link followed, both very anxious and hopeful to find Dink just sitting on a crate in there. They walked over to the door and waited for Talon to unlock it. Then they realized, if it was locked Dink couldn't even get in. they all sighed in disappointment and turned back to the wagon. Malon was very worried, and looked like she was going to cry when they sat back down on the seats in the wagon and it started to move again. Link stared out of the window opening in the wagon as they rolled along. Where could Dink be? Why would he leave like this? They finished their encircling of the oval fence and began to ride towards the Ranch gate and out into Hyrule Field. Malon and Link both gazed out of the back of the wagon over the milk crates and took one last quick look around the Ranch, keeping a close watch for Dink, but they didn't see him anywhere.  
" So.." Malon tried to start a conversation. She hated the tense silence. " How long have you known Dink?" She asked him. Link turned his gaze from the back of the wagon and looked at her as they left the dirt ramp and entered Hyrule Field.  
" Only about a day.." Link told her. Malon was surprised.  
" Really? You both seemed like you've known each other for years." Malon said. Link began to think about that. Maybe he had known Dink for years. Maybe every time he got angry, or felt fear, or felt hate. That was Dink. Dink was everything evil about Link, everything dark and frightening. Maybe that's why Dink seemed to know him so well. " How did you meet him?" Malon asked him. Link remembered yesterday morning in the woods.  
" In the forest. I was sent to get something for Saria.. My.." Link thought about what exactly Saria was to him, now. A guardian? A foster mother? Or just a friend. Malon waited for him to finish. " My friend." He said. " I met him while I was getting something for a friend in the woods. He was just running through the trees, and he popped out of the bushes in front of me." Link laughed. " We saw each other and screamed, we were so jumpy." Link smiled. Malon chuckled at the thought. " We hid behind the trees from each other and started asking each other's name's. Neither of us wanted to say ours first.. I finally stepped out and told him mine.." Link said.  
" What a shock it must have been to see that you both looked so much alike." Malon said. Link gasped and realized what he had just told her. He had just admitted that they had been lying about being twins, and Malon knew it. She raised an eyebrow to him. He turned his head away from her to hide his guilty expression. She didn't seem to mad, though. " Don't worry about it." She said to him. He turned back to her. " I knew from the start that you two weren't twins. It wasn't a big secret that your mom didn't have two sons, and I knew it as soon as Dink told me your name." She said.  
" Sorry we lied to you.." Link apologized. Malon sighed.  
" To be totally truthful with you, we haven't been telling you the entire story, either." She told him. Link wondered what she was talking about. " But my dad meant what he said when he told you that someone else will tell you the rest. It's not either of our places to tell you the whole truth." She said. Link thought about it. She may not have been totally truthful with him, but at least he knew he would learn the truth sooner or later. But the secret that he and Dink had held could only be told by them, and since he knew that the truth would eventually be told to him, he would have to tell the truth concerning him and Dink.  
" I suppose I should tell you the truth about Dink and I. Since our story's been proven a lie." Link said. He paused, and all that could be heard was the creaking of the wagon and the trotting of the horses hooves on the dirt as they continued to ride towards Castle Town. " Dink.." Link began. He wondered about the best way to break this kind of news. " Dink is my.. Um.." He paused again. " Dark.. Half.." Link finally told her. Malon glanced at him awkwardly, wondering if he had said what she thought he had said.  
" Dark half..?" Malon repeated. She looked a little frightened. Link nodded.  
" He's your dark half?" She asked again. She was very confused and stared blankly into space pondering what "dark half" could possibly mean. " Like, literally or figuratively? I mean, he's not really YOUR dark half, he's just like, your look alike that causes a lot of trouble, right?" She asked him. Link shook his head.  
" No.. he's literally MY dark half. The evil part of ME.." Link said. " He's the image of the hate, fear, and anger in my heart. He's everything dark that has built up in the back of my mind." Link said. It seemed like he was almost explaining all this to himself. Even he didn't quite yet understand everything about Dink. He remembered the time they were walking through the forest and Dink showed him his new Kokiri shield. He had also noticed, he just remembered, that Dink had also had what looked like the Sacred Kokiri Sword strapped to his back as well, only his was black. Was Dink acquiring every item that he himself was? Was he really that much a part of him that even his possessions were duplicated with evil incarnations? Malon was still in wonder at what Link had just told her about Dink.  
" wow.." She said to herself. " This sort of thing must not happen every day. I mean sure, I've seen my share of fairy's, magic, and strange creatures of all kinds. But this.. I'm sure even the Great Fairy's throughout Hyrule would be shocked." Malon said. " How did this happen?" Malon asked him. Link remembered what exactly the Great Deku Tree had told them about how Dink was created, and what he had said about the dark man from the desert. That man was real and he was out there somewhere, Link didn't want to tell Malon about that man.  
" Um, someone told us that.. Somehow, while I was dreaming some kind of dark power had gotten into my head and given me a look into the near future. But while it was inside my mind, it accidentally unlocked all the evil and darkness in my heart and made it so complete that it was almost a totally different person. But not all the way, Dink is still tied to me in some ways.." Link told her.  
" In what ways?" Malon wondered.  
" Well.." Link began. He took a glance at his now scabbed elbow and remembered how Dink soon was also cut after he got scraped. " We share the same injuries, every bruise and scrape.. Even and especially fatal ones " Link told her.  
" So.. If you, um.. Die. Then, Dink.. He dies too? Soon after you, right? Is that how it works?" Malon wondered.  
" Yeah.." He replied.  
" That's an awful thought.." Malon said quietly. They were all silent for the rest of the trip. Link kept his eye out for Dink along the way, hoping that maybe he might somehow find him just walking alone through the grass as they passed, but he never saw him.


	5. Reunion in Hyrule Market

CHAPTER5  
Reunion in Hyrule Market

As they continued to look out the opening in the canvas covering of the wagon, he saw that they were now crossing a bridge over a large moat and they could hear a crowd of busy people not to far away over the squeaking of the wooden wagon and the bubbling of the brook below. Link turned away from the window and stepped up close to the front of the wagon next to Talon, he looked up and out of the wagon just in time to see a huge white wall with Royal Crest above it's gate. This had been the wall in his dream and the bridge over which the young girl on the white horse had rode, he now knew that it was the gate to the town of Hyrule and gaped at the magnificent structure as they passed through it. Everything in his dream seemed to be piecing together finally, but he still hadn't figured out who the girl was or why Dink had done what he did. Malon was also now leaning up against the seat on the other side of Talon and was curiously looking around. Talon greeted the guards at the gate as he slowed the team to a slight trot and kept moving along the stone road. The guard on Link's side of the wagon stared at him and the weapon on his back awkwardly as he passed them in the wagon. Link only waved at him with a smile. As they moved slowly along, they saw beautiful gardens, houses, and hotels, and the tall trees on either side of them that shaded the road, letting only tiny rays of sunlight shoot through the holes in the leaves and down onto the stone path. Talon smiled at their curiosity as they gazed open-mouthed at the huge buildings on either side of them. They passed through the road way and entered the wide open market place, where the sun was shining all around them and it reflecting off of the water splashing from a large, beautiful fountain in the center of the square. The market was buzzing with people. People buying, people selling, and people just standing around gossiping. Most everyone that saw him had to stop and stare at him, some of the children even pointed at him. He felt quite awkward. They turned around the fountain and Talon stopped the wagon near the front of a building.  
" Alright, you two. Time to hop out." Talon said.  
" Awww, but daddy! Can't we come to the castle with you?" Malon asked him as they both stood to walk out of the back of the wagon.  
" No. I'm sorry, sweetheart, but the last thing the Hylian castle guards need is a couple kids running around the castle." Talon said. Malon frowned and sighed, she knew it was pointless to argue. They stepped over the gate on the back of the wagon and hopped down onto the stone. Link stood and took in everything he saw. This place was so much different than the Kokiri Village, everyone seemed so busy, and there were many buildings of stone and wood. It was so beautiful, and everyone seemed to have a smile on their faces. Malon ran over to the front of the wagon to talk to her father while Link took a look at everything. " Link, come here. I want to talk to the both of you." Talon called him over. Link walked over and stood next to Malon. " I'm sorry that your friend is missing, and I'll keep a look out for him as I go." Talon told them. " But until I get back, I want you both to stay in the market, and don't go messing around in the alley ways, you hear?" They both nodded. " Malon, I want you to find that man we talked about, you remember him?" Talon asked Malon. Link didn't know who they were talking about. Malon nodded. " You remember where he works, he owns the blacksmith shop next to the potion shop. He should be there. Okay?" Talon told her.  
" Uh huh, of course I know where he works." Malon nodded her head again.  
" Well, I'm guessing that I wont be back for another six or seven hours. Can you both take care till then?" Talon asked. They both nodded again. " Okay then. Goodbye Malon, I love you. See you later, Link. Take care of Malon for me, I hope you find your friend." Talon said to them as he snapped the reigns and began to move along again.  
" Bye bye, daddy! I love you, too!" Malon yelled after him.  
" Good bye!" Link yelled. Talon left the stone and turned the corner on the dirt path. Malon sighed as they saw him turn out of sight.  
" Okay, lets go!" Malon turned and said to Link.  
" Go where?" Link asked her.  
" Why, to the Blacksmith's, of course!" Malon put her hand on his shoulder and smiled as they began to walk towards the fountain. It felt so wrong to be going about business as usual without Dink. They both were still very worried, although they tried to hide it, for whatever reason. Malon was still in wonder about her new knowledge of who Dink really was, and they still wondered where in the world he could have gone, and why in the world he would have gone there without at least telling anyone. They walked around the fountain and kept going straight towards a large building. Link looked up as they walked and gasped at what he saw out of the corner of his eye. " What is it?" Malon asked him as they both stopped. Link gazed at the sight. What he saw was the large stone building just out of town, the ancient temple, the Temple of Time. Malon turned and saw what he was looking at. She smiled. " Oh, that place?" She chuckled. " I knew you would probably notice that." She said. It was the biggest, and most beautiful building that he had ever seen. The white stone walls glowed in the sunlight and it seemed so majestic next to the now smallish buildings of the market. " That's the Temple of Time, its been here for centuries." Malon began to explain. " no one knows how it got there, why its there, or who built it. But the people here think it's a little scary, I guess. They all stay far away from it." Malon said. " It's silly, I think, to be afraid of a building. If you ask my opinion, I think it was built by the gods themselves and should be treated so." She said. Link continued to stare at its tall towers and its massive doorway. It was an odd feeling, he felt almost as if he'd seen this building before, but that couldn't be possible, he thought. " Come on." Malon said. Link looked away from the temple and followed Malon. They stopped just outside the open-faced building and looked around in it, there were only about three or four people inside. " Wait here a second.." Malon told him and walked inside the building. Link saw her walk up to a large, bald man, and start talking to him. He couldn't hear what they were saying at first, but after a minute he heard the man say.  
" Yeah, he's in the back. I'll go get him.." Link assumed that they were talking about the same man that Talon had reminded Malon of. Malon turned and waved Link to come in. He walked up to her and looked at her a little awkwardly, he still didn't know what was going on. They both walked up to the counter and rested their arms on its top. Link saw the bald man talking to someone in a back room through a crack in the slightly open door. He couldn't see who he was talking too, though, the door wasn't open far enough.  
" What are we doing here?" Link asked Malon.  
" Just wait and see. There's someone that I would like you to see." She told him. Link still felt a little awkward just standing there. After about a minute, the bald man came back out of the room followed by another man. This other man was not quite as tall as the bald man, but then again, no one there was. He had black hair that wasn't short or very long, and he had a small goatee beard. Link saw that he had an earring in his left ear, and wondered why a guy would have an earring. But that wasn't the thing he noticed most. What he did notice most was his eyes. They were a kind of light brown, and they seemed very courageous. Link seemed to remember his eyes, almost as if maybe he had seen them before, not in a dream, but something a little more real like his past. Distant memories long passed that seemed to be trying to come forth from the depths of his mind.  
" You have a couple of young visitors." The bald man said to the other man. He stepped forward, wiping his hands off with a dirty rag. He had an apron over his clothes and smelt of metal. As he approached, he noticed Link and stopped and stared at him, Link tried to look away, but kept taking glances back at the man. The man looked like he recognized him also, but he just shook his head and looked at the floor, almost as if he was trying to shake himself out of distant memories as well. He put his smile back on and continued to walk towards them.  
" Well hello, Malon. It's been a while, how have you and your father been all the way out on the Ranch?" The man asked Malon.  
" We're fine, thank you. Daddy went to deliver some milk to the castle. He left my friend and I here to look out for one of our other friends who has seemed to, well.. Wandered off." Malon told him.  
" Oh, well I hope you find them." The man said. " But I am glad to hear that you and Talon are doing well." He said. Link stood staring at the man out of the corner of his eye and the man also kept taking sideways glances at him as well.  
" Well, your friend here seems to be a little shy." The man said, and stepped over in front of Link.  
" He's not used to meeting strangers, he's from the forest." Malon smiled, she seemed to know something that they didn't.  
" Is he now? How interesting." The man said thoughtfully as he now noticed Link's sword and shield. He wondered what a young boy from the forest would need such weapons for. He did know about the Kokiri, and he knew that many of them were older than himself and maybe even a bit more mature as well. " You must be from that Kokiri village, I've heard that there are some folks there that are over one hundred years old, and yet they look no older that you two." the man smiled. " Tell me, young warrior, how old are you? If you don't mind me asking." The man asked him. Link was a little nervous.  
" Uh.. Ten.. Sir" Link answered quietly. The man seemed a little anxious after hearing everything about him. He now knew that he was ten years old and from the forest, and the obvious facts about his appearance. His blond hair, his blue eyes, and his facial features. The man leaned on the counter in front of him and stared at him for a minute. Then he stood back up, he looked like he was going to start shaking, and his eyes were very wide.  
" What is your name..?" He asked. Link could see the expression of anxiety etched across the man's face as he asked him this. Link was also a little anxious, and answered him nervously.  
" Uh.. L-Link" He said. The man gasped as he stepped backwards, almost tripping over an anvil.  
" …Link?" The man repeated. They were all silent, and Link was very surprised at the man's reaction. The man slowly walked towards the counter and around it keeping his eyes fixed on Link the whole time and breathing fast and shakily. He passed Malon, who was still smiling and watching them. Link looked up at him and followed his face as he kneeled down to his eye level. He reached out with his hands and put them on his shoulders. Link could see tears welling up in the man's eyes. The man smiled as a tear ran down his cheek. He sighed shakily. " Link…?" The man asked again. Link slowly nodded at him. Suddenly the man pulled Link towards himself and hugged him very tightly. Link could hear him crying as he held him, and he looked over the man's shoulder at Malon, who was also silently crying and she smiled at him. He saw people around them stop and stare at them as they walked past. The man let him out of his grip but still kept his hands on his shoulders. He laughed a laugh of great joy as tears dripped down his face. " Link.. Do you remember me?" He asked him. Link didn't know what to say. " It's me, Idien!" He said. Link's eyes became very wide as he now realized who it was. This man was one of his fathers best friends and had know him since he was a baby, but he didn't remember him.  
" ..Idien?" Link repeated.  
" Yeah, buddy. You don't remember me, do you? Of course not, you were much to young." Idien said, still smiling. He laughed again. " I just cannot believe it. It's, it's really you.. After all these years.." Idien shook his head in disbelief. He looked at Link's eyes. " You always did have your father's eyes.." He told him. Link smiled at hearing this. Idien suddenly lost his smile and was once again a little anxious. He turned around and looked at Malon as if silently asking her something. Malon's smile also faded as she saw the look on Idien's face. She shook her head "No" as if she knew exactly what Idien was wondering. Idien also shook his head, and looked back at Link with a sigh. " We have a lot to talk about.. Come with me" Idien told him as he stood up. He turned and began walking back to the back room with Link in front of him. As he opened the door in front of them he turned and waved Malon to come along. She ran behind the counter and into the room with Link. Idien turned to shut the door behind him. " Cover for me, will you Brontas?" Idien asked the large bald man who was trying to hide the tears in his eyes as he stood hammering a piece of metal. He had been listening and watching them the entire time, but he didn't want Idien to know that, or that he was crying.  
" You're the boss.." Brontas said with a sniffle.  
" Thanks, man.." Idien said as he closed the door.  
" That was very touching, boss, very touching.." Brontas said quietly to himself as he continued to cry.

Idien told Link everything about his parents. How and where they had lived, what kind of people they were, and what exactly had happened the day they had died. He told him of how he wouldn't be alive now if Darin hadn't given his life for him and stopped the blade that was coming for him. Link even found out why Talon had Tyron in his stables. Idien had given every last one of Anya and Darin's horses to Talon after he sold their Ranch. Their memory was just to overwhelming in those horses and he couldn't even bear to look into Tyron's big sad eyes anymore. Link had taken everything in, and after almost a minute of trying to hold in his sadness, finally began to cry for his lost parents and the thought that he would never meet them in person. Idien and Malon both comforted him as best they could. In some strange way, Link thought that he had always known that he was alone. He knew that something was supposed to be in that gaping hole in his heart, but maybe he had just accepted the fact that he didn't know what it was. Now he knew what it was, it was his family. Maybe now, he thought, he could refill the empty space that they had left behind with something that for all its joy, was still not as good as the real thing. Their mere memory, and the joy that they had shared with everyone they knew, maybe they would share it with him. After he had wiped his tears and accepted the fact that they were gone, he told them everything about his life after Saria had found him in the meadow. As he spoke, he noticed that Idien seemed to be almost regretful, as if he was beating himself up emotionally for not taking a chance to search the Lost Woods for him all those years. Link told them about his life with Saria, his wrestles with Mido, and the friends he had made. He told them how he had been sent to find the Sacred Kokiri sword and how he had tried to save the Deku Tree. He did not, however, tell them of the Kokiri Emerald, for fear that anyone could possibly be listening and because the Deku Tree had told him not to tell anyone outside the forest about it besides the Princess. He even found the courage and will to tell Idien about meeting Dink, and everything that the Deku Tree had told them about him, even about the man from the Desert. Idien wondered if this man could be a threat not only to Link, but to all of Hyrule, and pondered about Dink just as Malon had.  
" I understand why Talon couldn't tell me the whole story, now. I probably would have taken it a lot differently if I had heard it then.." Link said.  
" I'm so sorry that you couldn't meet them yourself, Link. They were so great." Malon told him.  
" Yes they were.." Idien said as he stood up from the table. " And since you can't learn your sword skills from the best swordsman in Hyrule, you'll just have to learn from the third best.." He smiled.  
" Third best?" Malon asked. Idien nodded.  
" Well, yeah. The King's the second best.." He chuckled. Link was ecstatic.  
" Y-You're going to teach me how to use a sword?!" Link grinned as he gazed wide-eyed up at Idien.  
" If you'll have me as a master.." Idien said. " You can't be the wielder of an ancient Sacred Sword and not know how to use it." Idien told him. Link jumped out of his chair and danced in a circle.  
" Yes! I'm so exited, when do we start?!" Malon was almost in hysterics at Link's giddiness.  
" How does right away sound?" Idien crossed his arms and smiled. Link was absolutely beside himself, but then he remembered, he had been sent by the Deku Tree to see the Princess. He couldn't be spending his time doing other things, the man from the desert could already be here in the Kingdom, and he had almost completely forgot about the reason he had left the forest in the first place. But besides that, how was he going to get to her? He didn't know the way. And Idien was the Commander of the Guard, what if he turned him in.. Idien and Malon both noticed the sudden change in Link's mood.  
" What is it?" Malon asked him.  
" I.. uh.." Link began. Idien wondered what could be the problem. " There's, um, something else I forgot to tell you.." Link said. " Before the Deku Tree died, he told me to.." He paused.  
" He told you to do what, Link?" Idien asked him. Link wondered how to put this so that he wouldn't sound to crazy.  
" He told me to.. Go see the princess.." Link said finally. Idien and Malon were both a little shocked at this request made by the Deku Tree of someone so young.  
" The Princess.. He told you to go see the Princess of Hyrule as his last request?" Idien asked. " Well, it must have been pretty important that you see her if that was the last request that the Great Deku Tree made before he died." Idien thought. Link wondered what Idien was going to do. Malon was curious about the situation as well, and looked back and forth between them. " That's a really hard thing to do nowadays, you know." Idien told him. " Especially now. People say there's something big going on up there, some even say that there's some Gerudo guy from the desert here to see the King about something." He said. Link was a little nervous when he said that. A Gerudo man? What if this Gerudo guy was the same one who cursed the Deku Tree? Idien also thought of what Link had told him about the man from the Desert. He knew that there was only one Desert in Hyrule, and it was the Gerudo Desert. Idien sighed. " But I tell you what." Idien said after a moment. " Link, you seem like a  
harmless enough kid, and your daddy did help me out with a whole lot of things before. The least I can do to repay him is to lend a hand to his son.." He said. Link and Malon both looked at him curiously." I'll take you to the castle gates and see if I can talk to the guard, how about that?" Idien told him. They were both very surprised. The Kings Commander of the Royal Army was going to assist a break-in to the Castle. Link smiled at him.  
" Really?! You'll help me get into the Castle?" Link asked him.  
" I guess. If it was that important to the Deku Tree that you see the Princess, then I certainly can't argue." Idien smiled. " After all, who am I to disagree with someone like him?" Idien laughed. Malon and Link both chuckled.  
" Thank you, Idien." Link said.  
" It's no problem, unless you get caught.." Idien laughed again. " And try not to do that. I've waited ten years for you to turn up somehow, and I don't want to lose you again.." Idien walked up to him and said. Link smiled up at him.  
" I'll try." Link said.  
" Well, I guess if that's the plan then we should get going." Idien said. He and Link both nodded at each other in agreement. They began walking to the door.  
" Are you coming with, Malon?" Link asked Malon, who had also gotten up from the table and was standing behind him.  
" No, remember? My dad told me to stay in the Market." Malon smiled at him as Idien opened the door for them. Link sighed. " Besides, I need to keep a look out here for Dink." She said.  
" Alright.." Link said. " Thanks for everything, I guess I'll see you later.." He told her as they stopped next to the front counter. Malon smiled and nodded. Idien walked over to his locker and grabbed a coat as they spoke.  
" Who exactly is that young lad, sir?" Brontas asked him as he put his coat on. Idien turned to talk to him.  
" You remember the Commander before me, and his wife? The people I told you about who died in the War and their son who was lost?" Idien asked him.  
" Yeah, the baby that you looked for, for six years. What about him?" Brontas asked.  
" Well, obviously he's not a baby anymore." Idien said and looked over at Link and Malon. Brontas turned his head and looked as well.  
" You can't be serious.. that's Link?! No way!" Brontas said to him quietly.  
" Better believe it.. Ten years later and all this time he was in the one place everyone feared to look." Idien said regretfully. "..The Lost Woods.." He finished.  
" The Lost Woods?! How on Earth did he manage to live there for so long? My Uncle wandered into those trees two years ago, and no one's seen him since!" Brontas looked at Link and saw that he was still perfectly untouched by that magic. Idien had only just now thought of that, he had been to overwhelmed with joy to even think of how he lived there. He was now in slight disbelief himself of how Link came from there.  
" I really don't know.. Maybe I'll ask him myself" Idien said.  
" You go'in somewhere?" Brontas asked him as he began to walk away.  
" Yeah. I'm, uh, going for a walk with Link. I'll be back in a while." Idien told him.  
" Uh, okay. But what about the shop?" Brontas scratched his bald head.  
" Um, why don't you take the rest of the day off, Brontas. Go ahead and close up the shop for today, people can get their orders tomorrow." Idien told him and kept walking backwards towards Link and Malon, who were still talking.  
" Sure thing.." Brontas said to him.  
" Great. See you later, man." Idien said as he turned around and walked over to Link and Malon.  
"..Link.. that's so cool.." Brontas said to himself with a smile.  
" You ready to go, Link?" Idien asked him as he stopped next to them.  
" Yeah, I'm ready." Link told him.  
" Great, then lets go." Idien smiled and clapped his hands together. " It was nice to see you, Malon. Thank you for finding this guy for me, it was the best thing you could have ever done for me." Idien smiled and gave Malon a big hug.  
" Oh, it wasn't to much work. The hardest part was getting him off of that horse." Malon giggled as she remembered having to save Link from the horse he had tried to steal. They all laughed.  
" Well, that will have to be another thing to learn you, won't it, Link?" Idien chuckled. Link looked a little embarrassed as he thought about that. His father had been the best horseman in Hyrule, and he couldn't hardly even get one to let him touch its nose. " Well, I guess we'll see you later, Malon. Tell your father I said thanks." Idien said to Malon as they began to slowly walk out of the open area of the Blacksmith shop.  
" Goodbye Idien! Goodbye Link, it was nice to finally meet you! And don't worry, I'll keep a close eye out for Dink!" Malon said to them as they walked away. It was about twenty minutes walk from the town to the castle gates, and during that time, Idien and Link had a great time talking about everything that they would do now that Idien had finally found him. But soon they arrived at the gate, and saw the guard was standing alone in front of it keeping watch.  
" Hey Adiah, how have you been these last couple days?" Idien hollered to him. After all these years, Adiah, who was now twenty nine, just hadn't found the courage or the will to even try to get out of his guard duty. He just couldn't seem to manage it without the encouraging voice of Darin keeping him going. So at the castle gates he still stood, opening and shutting them for the King and all the other officers above himself.  
" Oh just fine Idien, just great" Adiah said back to him. He noticed Link walking alongside him. "..Who's your young friend you've brought with you? Another curious boy wanting to see the princess?" Adiah laughed as they approached him. " By the looks of him he's not from around here, are you son?" Adiah asked. Idien looked down at Link and smiled.  
" Adiah, I'd like you to meet Link, the one and only son of Darin and Anya... Link, I'd like you to meet Adiah, the best gate guard in Hyrule." Idien said to them. Link held out his hand to shake. Adiah didn't make a sound for a moment, then he laughed.  
" Ha! You're jerk'in my chain, aren't you Idien! Hey, don't joke like that!" Adiah laughed. Idien didn't say a word, but instead stared at Adiah, obviously very serious. Adiah's smiled faded as he looked from Idien back to Link. " Y-You're serious?.. Link?" Adiah walked up to Link slowly and stared at him. Link wasn't to nervous, he was used to this kind of behavior around here by now. He just waited for the guard to realize that it really was him, probably hug him, cry a little, and then ask him what he was doing. Adiah gasped as he realized that this really was Link, and he grabbed his hand. " Link! Wow, I cannot believe it's really you! I've missed you and your parents so much!" Adiah began to sob pathetically as he shook Links hand vigorously. Link was surprised that Adiah didn't hug him, but also a little relieved. Adiah stopped shaking his hand and sighed. " Gosh, you've got your fathers eyes.." Adiah smiled. He reached out and ruffled with Links hair. " And your mothers shiny gold hair." He laughed.  
" So I've been told." Link smiled at him.  
" I couldn't believe it myself when he told me his name. Lost for ten years and finally shows up in the market this morning. Turns out that he has been in the Lost Woods all this time." Idien told him.  
" You don't say?! Well, Link! It's so nice to have you back safe in this part of Hyrule!" Adiah said, shaking Links hand again. " I feel like Darin is here with me once again!" He said.  
" Thanks." Link said. " But, was he really that short?" Link asked him. Adiah and Idien both howled with laughter. " No, Link! He was actually a little taller that I am." Idien laughed. " You seem to have gotten his quick sense of humor also!" Idien told him. They may have thought that he was trying to be funny, but Link was actually being serious. He had only been out of the forest for two days, and he had seen many older people that were his size or smaller.  
" Yes, well, we could all use a good laugh nowadays." Adiah said with a sigh.  
" Yeah.." Idien said. " Listen, Adiah. I was wondering if we might get into the castle to see the princess, some urgent business calls Link here to seek the royal lady's advise." Idien asked. Adiah was a little shocked at this random request from the Commander.  
" Oh, well now, that's a tough one." Adiah rubbed the back of his neck. " See, the Kings in a meeting right now with one of them Gerudo thieves who's here to make a deal about something or other." Link looked up at Idien, now a little nervous to be going into the same building as that man. Idien looked down at him and winked assuredly that it would be alright. " Security's pretty tight, but I suppose.." Adiah continued and thought for a moment. " The King would, after all, love to see Darin's missing child home safe at last." Adiah said. They were all silent for a minute. " Hmmm, well I suppose.. Go on in, but hey! Be quiet now, don't go interrupting the Kings royal business." Adiah told them. He flipped a switch behind him and the large barred gate slid open.  
" Thanks Adiah, we'll see you later." Idien said as they walked through the gate.  
" Yeah, thanks!" Link said.  
" You're welcome kid! I'm so glad you're back! See you both later!" Adiah said as the gate closed behind them. They stopped right before the road turned left, up to the castle, and Idien began to give Link instructions.  
" Now Link, you cant use the front gate to get in, there will be to many soldiers there. The only other way into the castle is a drain hole on the outer south wall. You will have to find a way onto its ledge and crawl through, it will take you to the courtyard. It too is heavily guarded, so you will have to be even more careful, if they find you in there, it could mean your life." Idien sounded very worried, and put his hand on Link's shoulder. " Go on, Link. And try not to run into any trouble." Idien said very seriously.  
"What about you? Aren't you coming with me?" Link asked him.  
" I'm afraid not, Link. I think I'd be likely to give you away. But you're smaller, and if you've got as much of your father in you as I hope, then you're also very sneaky." Idien smiled. " You should be able to get past the guards easy enough by yourself. Now go on, and hurry back, I'll be waiting here for you." Idien said to him. Link sighed with regret that Idien wasn't coming with, and began to walk up the grassy hill off of the road. He stopped almost at the top and looked back at Idien, who was waving him off. He smiled back at him and waved, then turned around and kept walking.

Link got passed the guards outside the castle easy enough, but finding a way inside the large wrought iron fence around the castle was another thing. He stopped outside the castle draw bridge and sat behind a small tree to search from a distance for another entrance. Then he spotted one. An old brick wall built into the dirt made a fine ladder up and over the fence, and it was far enough away from the guards that they wouldn't see him. He took another look at the guards by the draw bridge platform and ran quietly and smoothly to the wall. After he reached it, he looked up it and all around it. It wasn't very high, but it looked a little unstable. With a deep breath, he started climbing. He had to dig his fingers in between the bricks and hold on as best he could. If he fell, he would definitely get caught, and that was something that he really didn't want to do. Halfway to the top, he set his foot on some loose crumbling rock and it fell to the ground, making quite a bit of noise. His heart began to race as he stopped cold and sat still for a minute so he wouldn't make any more rocks fall, and to make sure no guards were coming. That's when he heard the sound of clanking metal coming towards him. The falling rocks had alerted a nearby guard and he was coming to see what was going on. Link was frozen with fear, he couldn't move. He held on to the bricks with all the strength that his fingers had. But he could bare the tension no longer, the guard was getting closer and closer, he was going to be found. They would find out that Idien and Adiah had helped him. He would be put in prison and Idien and Adiah could be put to death. With a rush of adrenaline he pulled himself together and climbed the wall as fast as he could, making more rocks fall. He reached the top just in time to see the guard round the corner to where he was, he quickly moved up out of view and pressed his back up against the dirt wall behind him.  
" What is it, Durel?" Asked a guard by the fence. Link closed his eyes tightly and tried not to make a sound.  
" Oh nothing. Probably just a mole or something, made some rocks fall." The guard answered.  
" I tell you Durel, If I had known what a boring job this was, I never would have signed up for it in the first place! Nothing interesting ever happens, sometimes I wish someone would up and try to take over the castle, just to liven it up a bit around here!" The other guard said.  
" Watch what you say, Marez. The King would have a word to say if he heard you talk'in like that!" Durel said, walking back to the gate. Link let out his breath and looked down the wall again to make sure that the guard was a safe distance away. He saw no one, so he turned around and kept going. At the edge of the hill was a very steep drop down to a small platform, the drop was only about seven feet down. Link jumped down carefully and examined the path around him. At the edge of the platform he stood on was the moat that went around the castle. He was now on the west side of the castle, and if he wanted to get around it to the south side where Idien had said there was a drain, he would have to swim through the moat and avoid the guards. It flowed south, and he assumed that the drain Idien had told him about fell into the moat. He sat on the stone edge and slowly lowered himself into the water. It was very deep, but not to cold, and it wasn't moving very fast. He shook off the shock of the water and began swimming. Over the trickling of the clear water, he heard the two gate guards above, who were still arguing. The bridge to the castle wasn't lowered, so if he mad a wrong move here, there would be nothing to keep them from seeing him. Now passed the most dangerous part of the moat, he began to swim a little faster towards what he could see was a part of the wall that had crumbled down leaving a sturdy ramp out of the moat. He came to it and climbed slowly up out of the water, looking over to the guards to make sure they hadn't heard him. He was totally soaked and now felt the cold breeze making him feel like an icicle. Shivering and dripping, he tried to wring the cold water out of the bottom of his tunic. He found that that was just a waste of time, so he looked back over to the guards and all around him. The castle towered over him and almost made him feel dizzy to look up to its top. He was relieved to now be inside the fence, but nervous about the hardest part still to come: getting passed the courtyard guards. He sighed and looked over to where Idien said the drain was. He gasped and jumped back onto the ramp as quietly as he could when he saw what was there. It was Talon. Idien hadn't told Link that the storage room was right next to the courtyard drain, and Talon was still there unloading milk. There was nowhere for him to go, he would have to wait until Talon left to get into the castle. He sat there for over twenty minutes waiting for Talon to leave. Talon seemed to be taking his own sweet time, though. There were still three very large crates of milk to be put into the storage room, and Talon had decided to take a rest on the ground. Link was getting a little antsy kneeling down on those hard stones just waiting for Talon to leave. He watched as Talon's eyes seemed to become droopy and his head seemed to slowly be falling towards the ground. Talon was falling asleep. Within half a minute, Talon was snoring quietly as he sat on the ground next to his crates of milk. Link was worried now, a little nervous wondering about how long Talon might sleep there. But then he thought, this could also be a good thing. He could sneak passed Talon and get to the drain without waking him up if he was quiet enough. He slowly emerged from the wall and walked along the path till he came within five feet of Talon and the dead end. Looking away from the sleeping man, he saw that the drain was on the wall on the other side of the moat about eight feet up the wall from the water below. He stepped closer to the edge and looked down into the moat where it got so deep that he couldn't see the bottom. He knew that if he missed the jump he would be heard and captured, plus it would probably hurt a little. He was now thinking about how he would get up there. He most certainly wouldn't make it if he jumped from the edge as it was. He looked back at Talon and the large crates next to him and had an idea. If he was very quiet, he could push a crate over to the edge and then jump from there. He knew he had only one shot at this, and he had to make it count. Talon had now fallen backwards onto the ground and was now snoring louder, so Link took this opportunity and stepped over to the closest crate to the edge and walked behind it. There was at least ten gallons of milk in this crate, and he knew it would be very heavy for him, he wondered if he would even be able to move it at all. Situating his feet onto the dirt behind him, he looked back at Talon and then back at the drain. If he could just make this work without waking the man up, he would at least be inside the castle. With a quiet deep breath, he began to push the crate with all his strength. To his surprise, it moved quite easily and silently, he could barely hear it moving across the dirt himself. Once he had passed Talon's feet, there was only about a foot left till the edge of the moat, and that wasn't anything. He stopped it perfectly on the edge and sighed with relief as he turned and slid down to the dirt that he hadn't alerted anybody. He smiled to himself as he sat on the ground against the crate, he was more than half way there and had still gone almost completely unnoticed. He was starting to dry off as well, and that also made him happy. " Okay.." He thought to himself, and stood back up to climb the crate. Now standing atop the large wooden box, he was eye-level to the top of the drain, and was assured that he might actually be able to make the jump now. He mustered up his strength and took a breath, knowing that the trick to doing something like this is to just not think about it, he ran for it. Leaping from the edge of the crate, he hit the wall and grabbed on to the ledge of the drain. As he hung off its edge, he realized that the stone was a little slippery and his fingers began to slowly lose their grip. He quickly pulled himself up onto the ledge and sat down to catch his breath. He was a little irritated because he was now soaking wet again from the water in the drain, but he was also very relieved that he had made the jump and gotten to the drain without waking Talon from his slumber. Link closed his eyes and sighed. It wasn't so much that he was tired, but he was thankful that everything, so far, had gone towards the better for him. Now all he had to do was get passed the hardest part, which he wasn't looking forward to. After catching his breath and taking a last look around to make sure no one saw him, he turned around to the small opening and crawled through he thick walls of the castle. The drain tunnel was just big enough for him to crawl through, and it was at least seven feet long. As the light got brighter towards the end of the drain, he emerged out of the dark tunnel and into the open courtyard, where he could see the guards patrolling the walkways. They walked slowly up and down the paths, and from what he could see, none of them looked like they would let him pass easily. Link shivered, there were at least five in that one spot, and that was only what he could see. Who knew how many might be around the corner. It was like walking into a bee hive, and he would have to be careful not to stir anything up. Most of the courtyard was decorated with hedges, small flower beds, and statues, which meant plenty of places for him to hunker down behind. He slowly stepped out of the shallow pond that the water was draining from, and onto the grass. Walking quietly over behind a wall, he put his back to it and looked over his shoulder. This was going to be his biggest challenge yet, and if he screwed it up, there would be no mercy from the guards. He waited for the two guards closest to him to walk around the fountain that they were circling, and when he found an opening, he ran to a nearby hedge and kneeled behind it. He looked around, the coast was clear so far, and he could quickly walk hunkered down passed the fountain and to the corner. He took the opportunity and ran for it, so far avoiding both of the guards. He rounded the corner and came to what looked like a small vineyard in between two large hedges with one guard quickly walking around inside it as he kept both of his eyes out. This guard looked very serious about what he was doing, and Link knew that this guy would be a challenge. He waited, and when the guard had gone behind the large wooden post in the center of the vine brace, he ran as quickly and as quietly as he could passed him. There was another even larger hedge after the vineyard, and Link kneeled down behind it as he looked to see what was next. There was a large stone platform with a statue atop it, and the last two guards that he could see, encircling it. This wouldn't be too much of a challenge, and he could see that passed this area, the passage turned and went into a different part of the courtyard. He waited quietly for the two guards to walk to the other side of the platform, and ran quickly to the other side. He fell behind another hedge as he went safely out of the guards view. He sighed with a loss of breath and looked around. The courtyard walls were very tall, and the afternoon sun shot its warmth down into the beautiful area. Now safely out of sight for now, he took this time to let his heart rate decline a little, and just look around. He could still hear the faint sound of the water spilling from the pond at the beginning of the yard, and the birds all around him singing beautiful songs. Even the smell of the courtyard was beautiful, full of the scent of roses, lilies, and lilacs. It seemed to help him calm down some, and he was ready to keep going. He inched his way to the edge of the bush and looked beyond it. There was a narrow passage with a hedge at the beginning and two parallel hedges on either side, forming a very long and skinny rectangle around a long, tall statue. There was a guard on both sides of it, and they rounded the rectangle, then stopped to look around. Link would have to wait until they had their backs turned and then creep up behind them. This was by far the most difficult part of all, he would have to actually follow the guard and wait until he rounded the corner of the hedge before he could exit the passage and get into the royal courtyard. He found the gap, and without even standing up completely, he ran quickly up behind him. Once the guard got to the end of the hedge, he stopped and looked around. Link halted quickly about five feet behind him, he thought his heart was going to stop. All the guard had to do was simply look over his shoulder and Link would be done for. But he kept going and rounded the corner, leaving a way for Link to get passed them both unseen. After he was safely passed the hedge rectangle and the two guards there, he turned left as the ground went from grass to stone. He was now inside a large stone archway, and he walked slowly through it looking up and around him as he went. He was halfway through it when he heard footsteps on the rock behind him. His heart began to race again as a cold sweat dripped down his head. Was he about to be caught so close to his destination? It wasn't a guard, he thought, it sounded like someone much smaller. He swallowed loudly and quickly turned around without even thinking about it. He gasped, ready for the worst.. but no one was there. He could have sworn that someone was following him. He sighed with relief and shrugged it off, then kept going. Inside the royal courtyard it was much quieter. There were no guards clanking about, and everything seemed a lot more peaceful. Bright, colorful flowers grew in the beautiful green grass, and the stone ground ended after it had bridged the gap over a shallow, slow-moving water way around the circled area. He saw a girl staring through a window with her back to him as he walked slowly through the grass. Link thought she was probably one of the attendants daughters looking at the princess through her little window. She was standing at the top of a small flight of stone stairs, and seemed to be very intent at what she was looking at. As he stepped up behind her to talk, his boot made a loud noise as it hit the stone. Link clenched his teeth and gasped as she turned around.  
" EEK!" They both yelled as they saw each other. " Who are you?! How did you get past the guards?!" She asked him. Now seeing exactly what the girl looked like, Link stared at her. This girl had been the girl on the white horse in his dream. Another piece to the puzzle of his mind.  
"I.. Uh, um I.." Link stuttered. The girl suddenly seemed to forget about how startled she was, and a slight smile creeped across her face as she stared at his as well.  
" Oh, your clothes, you must be from the forest!" She exclaimed. Link was a little off on why she seemed so excited about that, but he just nodded. " Then.. Then, you wouldn't happen to have the sacred stone of the forest, would you? That green and shining stone?" She asked him. Link was now quite shocked at her response. How could she know about the Kokiri Emerald if she was only a maid's child? He was a little leery about it, but he figured since she already knew about it, he would answer her.  
" Uh, yeah.." Link said, and pulled the Kokiri emerald out of his pocket. The girl gasped.  
" You do! I knew you would!" She began. Link was still confused. " You see, I had a dream a couple of nights ago. In my dream, dark storm clouds were billowing over the land of Hyrule." She began. " But suddenly, a ray of light shot out of the forest, parted the clouds and lit up the ground. The light turned into a figure holding a green and shining stone, followed by another figure. I could not quite tell who the second figure was, but I know I will find out soon." She thought. Link had an idea of who both of the figures might be, but he didn't say anything. The girl went on. " I knew this was a prophecy that someone would come from the forest, I thought you might be the one!" She said. There was a pause as Link put the stone back into his pocket and thought about what she had told him. " Oh! I'm so sorry! I got so carried away with my story that I haven't even properly introduced myself!" She suddenly exclaimed. Link looked up at her. " I am Zelda, Princess of Hyrule.." She bowed to him. " What is your name?" The princess asked him. Link began to sweat, he had no idea that he was talking to the princess this whole time! He thought that the princess would have been much older, but by the way this girl was dressed, he thought he should have guessed it.  
" Uh, m.. my name is Link.. Your highness. He said as he also bowed to her. She looked at him thoughtfully.  
" Link? Strange, it sounds somehow familiar.." She thought for a moment. " Yes! I know you! Your father, Darin brought you and your mother into Hyrule Field a long time ago, we were both only small babies at the time, but my father has told me so much about you and your family." She smiled. Link felt so honored that a princess was speaking so highly of him and his family.  
" Really? It seems like everyone in Hyrule knows more about me than I do." Link scratched his head as the princess giggled.  
" So you have been in the forest this whole time! I thought you might, and I'm so happy you're home! " She told him. " Oh! Have you talked to Idien, the Commander? He was the one that led all the searches for you over those six years! He and your father were best friends." She asked him.  
" Yeah, I've seen him. We spent the entire morning together." Link said. Zelda smiled.  
" That's great. I'm sure it does his heart great good to see you so well after all those years of worry.." She said. They were silent for a moment until the princess remembered what she had been explaining to him. " Okay, Link!" She said to him after a minute. " I'm going to tell you the secret of a place called the Sacred Realm, passed down by the royal family. You must promise not to tell anyone though!" Zelda said. "Do you promise?" She asked him. Link thought that this was a little random, and slightly odd, but who was he to argue with a princess. He was, however, hoping to just give her the stone and go back to Idien, but he wasn't going to be rude.  
" Yes, I promise." Link said. Zelda smiled.  
" Ok, the legend goes like this.." Zelda began. " After the world was created, the creators left behind the Triforce as a marker to where life began, and created a place called the Sacred Realm as a dwelling place for this power. Contained within the Triforce was some of the creators power, the power to grant any wish of any one who held the Triforce in his hands. If any one with a righteous heart held the Triforce, it would lead Hyrule to a golden age of prosperity. But if someone with an evil mind takes hold of it, the world will be consumed with evil." Zelda began to get a look of extreme seriousness as she spoke. Link listened very intently as she went on. " So the ancient Sages built the Temple of Time to protect the Triforce hidden within the Sacred Realm, from the evil ones of the world." She told him. Link recognized that name, the Temple of Time. He was surprised that any of this had anything to do with that great stone building nestled quietly outside Castle Town. Zelda could see that he was shocked. " That's right. The Temple of Time is the entrance to the Sacred realm from our world. But the entrance it sealed with a large stone called the Door of Time, and in order to open it, it is said that you need to collect three sacred stones. The other thing you need, is the treasure that the royal family keeps along with this legend, the Ocarina of Time." She finished. " Did you get all that?" She asked him. Link stood speechless at everything she had just said, it seemed his mind was getting overloaded with every thing he had learned in these last few days, but he had to try and remember it all.  
" Uh.. yeah, I think." Link said. She sighed with a smile.  
" That's good, I didn't want to have to repeat all that." The princess said. " Oh, I almost forgot to tell you what I was doing here!" She said. Link was a little nervous at this, and tried to discourage her from telling him anything.  
" Oh, you don't have to.." Link started.  
" Oh its alright. I was just spying on my father talking to that man in there." She said. Link looked at her funny. Spying on the King of Hyrule? That's alright? But then he thought that he had just broken into the King's castle, which in the King's eyes, he was sure, was probably a whole lot worse. " The dark clouds in my dream, I believe they symbolize that man.." She said as she pointed into the window. " Go ahead, look inside and see.." She told him. Link stepped up to the window cautiously and looked through. He saw the man, and he gasped when he realized that it was just as he and Idien had thought. It was the Gerudo man from his dream, the one who had cursed the Deku Tree. " That is Ganondorf, the leader of the Gerudos. they come from the desert far to the west." She seemed a little upset as she spoke. Link continued to gaze in terror at the man. " Though he swears allegiance to my father, I know he is not sincere." She told him. Suddenly the man looked away from his bowed position and over at him. Link jumped back away from the window.  
" He saw me! I gotta get out of here!" Link said, and turned to run.  
" No Link! Come back! Don't worry, he doesn't know a thing about us.. Yet." She said to him. he walked slowly back to her, assured that she was right and he was safe within the castle.  
" So.. your father.." Link began, taking another slight glance at the man, who was doing the same to him, almost as if he, too, recognized Link. " Does he know about your dream?" He asked her. Zelda sighed.  
" Yes, I told my father about it. But he does not believe it is a prophecy. I can sense that mans evil intentions. What Ganondorf is after must be nothing less than the Triforce of the Sacred Realm, he must have come here to obtain it." She seemed a little distressed. " Link, now we are the only ones who can save Hyrule! Will you help me?" She asked him in what seemed like a desperate voice.  
" Ok, sure" Link said, not quite sure what she needed his help with.  
" I have a feeling that man is going to destroy Hyrule, he has such terrifying power! But now you have come, and we must not let Ganondorf get the Triforce! I will protect the Ocarina of Time with all my power, he shall not have it! You must go and find the other two stones. Lets get the Triforce before Ganondorf does, and then defeat him!"  
Zelda told him. Link was totally silent. She wanted his help…with saving the entire Kingdom of Hyrule. No, not just Hyrule, the entire world! But what was he going to say? No? He didn't know what to say. What would he tell Idien and Malon, what would he tell Dink when he found him? He finally submitted to her after some thought.  
" Alright.. Okay. I'll help you." He told her. She was very excited with his reply  
" That's great! Thank you! We had better get started. I'll stay here and keep my eye on Ganondorf, you go find those other two stones!" She said. "Oh, wait!" She said as she remembered something. " You may need this, hold on a minute.." she said as she took a pencil and a fold of paper, stamped with the Royal Hylian crest, out of her pocket and began to write something. As she finished, she folded it back up and handed it to him. " Here, this will help prove that your have been sent by the Royal Family. Show it to anyone who does not help you for lack of belief." She said. Link took the paper and put it in his pocket.  
" Thanks." He said." Right. Now, I'll just, go then.." He said awkwardly and turned to leave.  
" It was very nice to meet you, Link! Come back safely!" Zelda said after him. As he walked slowly back through the grass towards the archway, thoughts raced through his mind about what in the world he was getting himself into. How could he have gone from clueless ten-year-old Kokiri boy, to courageous ten-year-old Hylian hero in just two days? He had no idea about where to start, and was terrified of what could happen if he failed. As he approached the stone archway, he saw someone standing in the shadows.  
He thought it was a guard, and he froze in his steps. He realized that he now had to re trace his steps and get past all those guards again, what would happen now if he was caught? The situation was very different than when he had first come through.  
" Its alright young swordsman." The person said to him as they stepped out from the shadow of the archway. " I  
Have spoken to Idien and Adiah, they told me to find you." Link was very relieved to hear this. The person was a tall woman, she had white hair that was pulled back into a small bun, and wore a few pieces of armor over her blue suit. " I am Impa, a Shiekian from Kakariko Village responsible for protecting princess Zelda. Everything so far is exactly as she foretold." The woman told him. " You are setting off on a big new adventure, aren't you?" She could see that Link looked very worried, and smiled at him. " Go with courage. Your mother and father would be very proud of you, I know. You are the son of a once great Hylian Commander and Swordsman, you are sure to be victorious over this terror." She tried to encourage him. Link smiled back at her.  
" Thank you.. Impa" Link said, now slightly calmer.  
" But know this Link, the world is much different outside of our comfort zones, and it is sure to be much less friendly. Beware of who you trust." She told him, now much more serious. He now knew just how this adventure would be for him, and how much the people of Hyrule depended on him.  
" If you go back the way you came, there could be trouble. I will take you back to the castle gates, from there,  
Idien will tell you where to go." Impa told him. Link was relieved that he wouldn't have to go back through the courtyard, and nodded at Impa in agreement. He looked back at Zelda before they left, she was still watching him with a smile of anticipation. He waved goodbye to her and followed Impa into the archway.

It had been at least three hours, and Idien was  
Still waiting at the gate when Impa and Link showed up. Adiah opened the gate for them and they went through.  
" So Link, did you see the princess? How did it go?" Idien asked him.  
" Yeah I found her, and it went fine. She did kind of  
bore my with all that talking about.. things. But I did learn a lot, I'm not complaining." Link stopped himself before he  
mentioned the Sacred realm.  
" Well that's a little girl for you, they aren't satisfied till they've told you everything they know." Adiah laughed.  
" And you don't have to keep the Sacred realm a secret from us, most of us here have heard the story since we were children." Adiah said to him. Link was shocked at that statement, and stared at him. " But don't go spoiling it for the princess, she still thinks she's the only one besides her mom and dad that knows about it." Adiah told him.  
" Yes well, just because we know, doesn't mean that there aren't people who don't, so keep your voice down." Impa said.  
" Yes madam." Adiah apologized.  
" Well men, you had better be off now. It seems that Link has been assigned to be the royal family's messenger to the Gorons, and he mustn't be late." Impa told them. Idien looked a little worried.  
" Well I'll be! You see the princess for two hours and you've already gotten a better job than me! Most men don't even dream about delivering personal messages for the King, let alone talking to a princess." Adiah smiled. "And you're only ten years old, my my." He said.  
" That's Darin's boy alright." Idien sighed. " I guess I cant stop you from being the person you're going to be anyway." Idien sighed . " So to the Goron City you go.." He said. Link and the others could tell that he didn't want to let him go. He had just found him after ten years of waiting, and now he was leaving again. " I guess we had better get going, day light's wasting." Idien said to him as he put his arm on his shoulder and they turned to leave.  
" Have a safe trip, Link! And come back this time!" Adiah said to him as they walked away.  
" Take care young swordsman, bring back the hope of Hyrule!" Impa said to him.  
" See you all later!" Link said as they left. Idien and Link walked all the way back down to the market, this time they talked about what kind of things he would have to face in order to get those other two Sacred Stones, and who he would have to appease in order to obtain them. As they entered the Town, Malon was waiting for them on the edge of the fountain. She smiled when she saw them and ran to meet them.  
" So, Link! Did you get in?! did you meet the princess?!" Malon was very excited.  
" Yeah, I met her. And it was a real pain to get in, but I finally managed it." Link told her. He tried to leave out the part about finding Talon asleep on the job.  
" Well, she certainly must have had a whole lot to say, you were gone for almost four hours!" Malon said as she crossed her arms.  
" Sorry to have kept you waiting, Malon." Idien told her.  
" Yes, she certainly DID have a whole lot to say.. And most of my time was spent getting past those guards. Luckily a woman named Impa took me out through the front door on my way back, otherwise I would have had to get past them again." Link told her. Malon grinned.  
" But we knew you could do it, right Idien?" She said.  
" I had high hopes." Idien told them with a grin. " So. No luck with your friend.. Uh.. Dink?" Idien tried to remember his name. Both Malon and Link's smiles faded as they remembered Dink.  
"..no." Malon said sadly. " He's been gone since very early this morning, and I haven't seen a trace of him.." She huffed.  
" I have no idea why he would want to just walk off like this.. Or where he would just walk off to." Link though aloud.  
" I'm sorry guys. I wish there was more I could do for him. Hyrule is a very big land, he could have gone anywhere. But if he's as good a friend as you both say he is, I very much doubt that he's gone too far." Idien tried to be reassuring. They were all silent as they thought for a moment, the crowd in the market still buzzing around them as they stood.  
" We may find him yet.." Idien said. " But for now, we have an important job to do." He told them.  
" What important job? Did the princess ask you to do something?" Malon asked Link. He nodded. " What did she ask you to do?" she was once again all excited.  
" Sorry, Malon. That's strictly confidential. Let's just say something urgent calls us to some place near Kakariko Village." Idien said. Malon seemed irritated to be left out, and huffed at them as she crossed her arms.  
" And I have to stay here and wait for my dad, I suppose?" She said. Idien nodded. Malon stomped her foot and groaned in disapproval. Link thought that her tantrum was quite entertaining, and tried to hide his grin. " This is SO unfair!" She said.  
" We'll see you later, Malon. Thanks for everything." Link smiled at her.  
" Good bye little miss Lon Lon." Idien said as they walked past her. She sighed as she turned and watched them walk away.  
" You both keep a lookout for Dink, you hear me?! And I'll do the same!" She said loudly after them.  
" Sure thing, Malon!" Link turned and waved at her as they continued to walk.  
" Poor Malon, I do feel bad for her." Idien said as they passed the fountain and continued on to the tree-shaded road.  
" Yeah.. Me too." Link said.  
" However. The road to the Goron City is very dangerous, and the journey to Kakariko Village itself is quite long. I'm sure she wouldn't enjoy that too much." Idien told him.  
" I'm not so sure that I'll enjoy it much, either.." Link said. Idien smiled, and suddenly stopped. " What is it, did you forget something. Idien thought for a moment.  
" Uh, yeah. Wait right here, I'll be right back!" Idien told him as he turned around and began to jog back to his Blacksmith shop. Link watched him as he unlocked the large wall-like door and lifted it up over his head, greeting the people that passed him as he went in. He could barely see him as he walked into the back room and shut the door behind him. After about a minute, Idien emerged from the dark shop carrying something large slightly flat, but rounded on one side like a shallow bubble. It was wrapped in a white sheet, and Link couldn't get a look at what it was. Idien came out of the building and shut the large door behind him, making sure that it was locked. He walked back over to him through the crowd, still carrying the object carefully with both hands.  
" What's that?" Link asked Idien as he approached him. Idien smiled at him with the item in his grip.  
" I'll show you when we get to the field. It's something very special, and I'm sure people around here might also want to get their hands on it." Idien told him. " Come on, let's go." He said, and they both continued their walk under the shade of the large trees and tall buildings. The guards at the gate suddenly straightened their backs and stood firm as they saw Idien approach.  
" Afternoon, Commander Idien." They both saluted him.  
" At ease, gentlemen." Idien saluted back and kept going. " Like the new mustache, Haynor." Idien said to one of the guards, who had a large, bushy wad of hair sticking out of his face.  
" Thank you, sir." The guard said. Idien nudged Link's shoulder with a chuckle, Link laughed quietly. The guard on their right suddenly saw Link and began to stare at him again. The same guard that had stared at him when he was on Talon's wagon. Only this time he was shocked not only to see a heavily armed, strangely dressed little kid, but a heavily armed, strangely dressed little kid walking all buddy-buddy with his Commander. Link did just as he had the first time and waved politely at him. They walked through the stone wall and across the drawbridge, out into Hyrule Field. The air smelt of warm grass and trees as they stopped and turned towards a huge volcano far to the east.  
" You see that big mountain over there, Link?" Idien pointed at the volcano.  
" Yeah.. Kind of hard to miss that" Link laughed as he saw the mountain towering over all the others making them seem like nothing but mounds of dirt compared to it. Idien chuckled.  
" That's Death mountain. Not a very pleasant name as you can tell, but it suits it well. Most folks who go up there don't come back down." Idien told him. Link gulped as he stared at the huge volcano, he wasn't laughing anymore.  
" I..I h.. have to go.. up there?" Link asked him.  
" I'm afraid so. If the princess asked you to see  
the Gorons, that's were they live so that's where you go." He sighed. " The Gorons are a weird people, well, they're not really people. They're more like giant turtles.." Idien told him. Link looked at him funny.  
" Huh?" Link asked him.  
" Well, not really giant turtles actually. Uh, it's kind of hard to explain. Um, they have a hard rocky shell like covering on their back, and they can curl up into balls and pretend they're rocks. They have beady little black eyes, and they're usually pretty funny." Idien explained. Link was slightly relieved to hear that they were at least a little friendly, but wasn't warming up to quickly to the description of their appearance.  
" Usually?" Link asked him nervously.  
" Yeah. But there's one I'd watch out for, his name is Dunter, and he likes to roll down the mountain side and bomb into stuff." Idien scratched his head and winced at him. Link sighed with unwillingness to venture into this territory, and wished that Dink could be here to come with him. " Now.." Idien began to explain more to him. " They live inside the  
mountain, and that means you'll have to climb up some pretty rough terrain.. You will probably need this.." Idien said, and held out the object in the sheet that he had been carrying. " This is for you, now's a good a time as ever to give it to you.." He said. Link took it slowly, it was a little heavy and felt like metal. Carefully unwrapping it, he saw as he folded up the sheet that there was something shining in the sunlight. He gasped to see that the object was a large metal shield. It was blue with a silver edge, a red bird and the symbol of the Triforce painted on it. It also had a single triangle on the base. It was Darin's shield that he had asked Idien to give to Link right before he died. " This shield was your fathers, it is the shield of a Hylian Commander." Idien explained. Link stared in awe at the beautiful shield, it looked brand new, and it shined in the sunlight.  
" It was my fathers?" Link asked him with a smile as he touched the silver engravings on its face. Idien nodded.  
" He asked me personally to give it to you, it was his last request of me.." Idien said sadly. " It is very special, there are only five made every fifty years or so." He said. Link took off his Kokiri shield and Idien held it for him as he hooked the Hylian Shield in it's place. He moved his sheath strap around his shoulder to get the heavy shield a little more comfortable on his back. Idien smiled, the shield almost totally covered his entire back and part of his head. " It might be a little big for you, but it ought to keep you from getting hurt to bad by those falling rocks." Idien told him.  
" What is that triangle down there on its base? I thought that the Triforce was three triangles." Link asked.  
" That is the Triforce of Courage, they are painted on these shields for those who show great valor and are very loyal to Hyrule." Idien told him. Link shuffled his sheath strap again. " How does it feel? Is it too heavy?" Idien asked him.  
" It's a little heavy, but I think I can manage it." Link replied. He turned and looked at the mountain  
again.  
" Link." Idien said to him, Link turned and looked at him as he kneeled down and put his hands on his shoulders. " I am so happy to finally have you back safe where you belong. Your father would be so proud of you right now,  
and I'm sure they are both smiling down on you from the sky" Idien smile at him and gave him a hug. " I guess you should be off now." He said. " I'm sorry I cant come with you, I would very much like to, but I am stationed here and cant be called off until the King says." Idien looked very sad that he couldn't come. " But take care, not every one you meet will be as kind to you as me and Talon, you're lucky to have had a fairly good sampling of the people of Hyrule. But there are some people who are just cruel to be cruel." Idien warned him. " Goodbye Link. Come back safely.." Idien hugged him again, then let him go as he stood up.  
" Goodbye Idien." Link said to him, and turned to leave. Idien watched as Link walked through the field and crossed the bridge over the creek. He walked up the  
stone stairs to Kakariko Village, and out of sight.

CHAPTER6  
The Gorons Ruby  
The Sacred Stone of Fire

After about three hours, Link arrived in Kakariko Village. It was a pleasant little town, not quite as busy and loud as Castle Town, but he could hear what sounded like a construction site somewhere in the village. The entire village consisted of about five separate buildings, not including whatever they were still constructing, and the ground was all blanketed in a thick cover of dark green grass. As he walked through the grassy grounds, he saw straight in front of him was a small tree in the center of the road, and beyond that, up some stairs was what looked like a well. Above the well, was an enormous windmill. Turning slowly in the evening breeze, it towered over the village like a mountain. Link could tell that the sun was about to set by the bright orange glow on its face and by his long shadow stretched out in front of him, and he yawned deeply as he went along. He had had a very long and eventful day, and wondered if maybe he should find a place to sleep for a while. As he walked passed the tree and up the stairs to the well, he looked down into it. It was completely full, and the water stood still and black as it reflected his image back at him. He looked away from the water and gazed all around him, up at the windmill that shot up right in front of him. Taking glances at his surroundings, he saw that the noise of hammers and bangs was the still going construction of the frame of a brick building next to the well and up some more stairs. Men walked along the brace, it seemed to him that most of them weren't really doing anything, and a large bald man with a white mustache yelled at them to " Quit lollygagging and get to work!" Link laughed at the men as they just scoffed at the old man and continued whatever they were doing.  
Link looked away from the building and saw a woman franticly running around trying to get some small chickens into a pen. She chased them all around through the grass, and then suddenly they all veered towards him. The flock of about five birds was charging him at full speed, and they were getting closer and closer. Link gasped and jumped out of their way as they flew up and tried to claw him. The woman didn't seem to notice him as she continued to chase the rally of attack chickens. They swerved and seemed to be coming at him again. What was going on, he thought, what was with these evil, creepy little birds? He turned and ran away from the swarm of poultry that was pursuing him. The woman saw him this time and was now even more frantic about catching them.  
" I'm sorry! I don't know what's gotten into them!" The woman said. Link looked back at her behind the flock and continued to run. " Whatever you do, don't stop running!" She said to him.  
" Don't worry, not a problem!" Link huffed as he kept on running. The group of carpenters working on the building all stopped and stared at them as they ran around the village, even a couple other people opened their doors and windows to get a peek at what all the noise was. Link saw as he ran that there was an opening in the stone wall beside the stairs to the windmill. He jumped to the side quickly and front-flipped out of the way of the still pursuing chickens. He got up and looked back at them, they were turning towards him yet again and coming fast. He turned around towards the opening in the wall and ran through it away from the birds, who seemed to be afraid, now, to follow him into this part of the village. They turned away from him and back towards their pen with the woman still chasing them.  
Link stood and caught his breath as he watched them flop away from him. As his heart rate began to slowly decline, he turned around and looked at where he had taken himself. The path he was on winded through a canyon-like opening between two large hills. The road disappeared behind a turn in the crevasse, and he couldn't see what it led to. He decided to find out where this road went, and continued walking through the path. The road here also was covered in a thick carpet of grass, and looked as if not many people used it. After five minutes of slowly walking through the road, he arrived where it stopped and opened up into a large area filled with short fences and stones protruding out of the ground. There was a sign above the walkway as the trail opened up, the sign read " Hyrule Royal Cemetery." Link didn't know what a cemetery was, but it looked depressing and cold. There was no one there but a little boy who was limping around with a stick as he walk along the paths in front of the stones. Link continued on through the tall sign and into the cemetery towards the boy. To his right, there was an old, worn out shack beside the dirt walls in the corner of the area, and occasionally, he saw a puff of smoke or two emerge from a small pipe coming out of its roof. He walked up the trail and looked down at one of the stones as he approached them, it looked like there was something engraved on its flat face. " Here Lies Jemoras: the last chief of the Shiekiahs." It read. Link now had a slight idea of where he was, and was a little nervous about being here.  
" Hi" Said a small voice behind him. Link turned around. It was the little boy who had been walking around through the trails.  
" Hey." Link said back.  
" What's yer name?" The boy asked him with a bright and slightly toothless smile as he held the stick he had against his shoulder.  
" I'm Link." He replied. " I'm not from around here." Link told him. The boy giggled.  
" I could tell that!" He said. " Every one here don't just come walk'in around the graveyard unless they's got kin folk buried here." The boy explained. Link looked down at the dirt and made sure he wasn't stepping near a stone as the boy said Graveyard. " My names Bomber, I'm seven." The boy told him. " Did you tell me how old you were?" He asked. Link shook his head.  
" No I didn't. I'm ten." He said. " This is a graveyard?" He asked him. The boy nodded.  
" Yup. Don't you know's a bone yard when you see's one?" The boy laughed. Link wasn't quite as comfortable as the boy was as his thoughts were confirmed about what this place was.  
" Then, there are.. dead people.. under there?" Link pointed to the ground beside the stones. The boy nodded again.  
" Yer not a-scared, is ya?" Bomber laughed. Link looked at him, surprised.  
" What, you're not afraid?" Link asked him.  
" Nope. I been play' in around here's since I was four. There's nuthin to be scared of here.. 'sept Dampe the grave keeper." Bomber looked over towards the little hut by the beginning of the trail.  
" Does he live there in that little shack?" Link asked him. Bomber looked back at him and nodded.  
" Yeah. But don't worry, he usually sleeps in the daytime." Bomber explained. Link thought what an odd guy this Dampe must be to sleep during the day inside a tiny shack next to a bunch of dead people. " He's really scary.. When he's awake." Bomber went on. " But in the daytime, I like to walk along the trails here and pretends I'm him." Bomber smiled. " I limps around with my stick and try's to make scary faces like Dampe. But I'm not very scary, am I?" Bomber held his hands behind his back and looked bashful.  
" No, not really." Link shook his head and smiled.  
" Nah, I'm too cute.." Bomber smiled and began to walk along the trails again. " Maybe we should play a game. Wanna?" Bomber turned around towards him and asked.  
" Sure.. I guess." Link agreed. He looked back towards then sky and saw that the sun was still sinking slowly behind the hills above Hyrule Field far to the west, and an eerie twilight was beginning to over shadow the skies above them.  
" Okee dokee! Let's play a game to see's who can be the scariest! It's called, Who Can Be the Scariest!" Bomber was very excited to have a playmate, and acted like he hadn't played with anyone in years. " You gotta run around and act all creepy, and see's who gets a-scared first's!" Bomber swung his hands in the air and turned around to run up the slow climbing hill behind him. " Ready?! GO!" He yelled, and ran up the trail and around the fence behind Link. Link didn't quite know what to do to be scary, and didn't want to make the little boy cry, so he just ran around and waved his hands in the air, yelling.  
" Roooar!" Link yelled as he ran up the trail behind Bomber. Bomber began to giggle as he heard Link yelling quite ridiculously behind him, and tried to be scary himself. He ran up another trail to the highest hill in the cemetery and tried to keep his distance from Link, who was now sort of getting the hang of being frightful and deepened his voice to a low growl as he put on his creepiest face. Bomber stopped and turned around at Link quickly, yelling very loud in his face and showing his teeth as he raised his stick in the air. Link wasn't moved, and yelled even louder and stood up even taller with a scrunched up nose and gritted teeth. Bomber gasped and turned back around quickly to run away from him, as he took a big step, he tripped on a hard tuff of grass and crashed to the dirt, dropping his stick. Link had also begun to run after him and tripped over the stick that Bomber had dropped as he stepped forward. Link landed right behind Bomber, and luckily his head hit the ground within inches of a hard, unforgiving grave stone. Bomber coughed as he stood up and brushed himself off, Link was still lying on the ground, something had caught his eye on the headstone next to him.  
" Hee hee. Alright, you win, you really scared me." Bomber smiled at him as he plucked a stick out of his shirt. Link didn't look up at him, he just lay on the ground staring at the grave marker. Bomber looked at him funny. " What'cha do'in down there?" He asked Link. He bent down to look at the grave as well, and also stared at it to see what was so interesting about it. Link finally looked away from the stone, he looked pale and shocked. He and Bomber stared at each other for a while. ".. I can't read.." Bomber said to him finally. Link looked at the stone again and stood up. " What does it say, Link?" Bomber asked him. Link was silent for a moment. The stone read: Here rests Darin: Beloved husband, father, friend, and Commander. The Heavens shine down upon Hyrule's man of valor. Link was barely breathing as he read the words over and over again.  
"..my father.." Link said quietly. Bomber looked back at the stone.  
" Huh? That's yer daddy?!" Bomber was also shocked. " No way! I'm really sorry, Link. I didn't know." Bomber put his head down.  
" No. It's alright, you didn't do anything wrong." Link told him. He looked at the stone beside his fathers and walked in front of it. Bomber stepped back out of his way and looked down at it as well. The second stone read: Here lies Anya: Beloved wife, mother, and friend. Find peaceful eternal rest, our lady of honor.  
" A-and.. Who's this one?" Bomber asked him nervously as he heard Link sigh.  
"..my mother." Link answered him. Bomber put his head down again, and looked like he was going to cry himself.  
" Gosh.. I'm s-so sorry.." Bomber's voice quivered. Link turned around and smiled at him sadly.  
" Why are you so sorry? You didn't do anything bad. You're right, you didn't know, and neither did I." He said. Bomber looked up and wiped his eyes, smiling back at him.  
" Thanks, Link." Bomber said. " It just makes me so really very sad. I don't know what's I would do without my mommy and daddy.." He said. Link thought about how he felt when he was seven like Bomber, he didn't even know what a mom and dad were, so he didn't feel a longing for them. Even now, he didn't remember what a mother's nurturing care or a fathers encouraging voice felt like. Idien was and probably always would be the closest thing he'll ever know to a father. " Yer really tough, Link.." Bomber told him with a big smile. " I want's to grow up to be tough like you! And scary like you, too!" Bomber was very happy to have Link as a friend. Link chuckled at him.  
" Thanks, Bomber. I'm sure you will." He said. Bomber smiled and clapped his hands together.  
" Yay!" He said. As they stood there talking, the hadn't noticed the sky becoming cloudy over the colorful sunset. The sky suddenly became very dark, a storm was coming. A single fat rain drop fell from the clouds and landed on Link's nose with a "SPLAT". Link flinched in surprise at the water drop on his face, making Bomber flinch also. They both looked up into the sky at the dark storm clouds. " Uh oh.. Storm's come'in." Bomber said. Suddenly he gasped. " It's dark! That means Dampe's gonna wake up soon!" He said. Link looked away from the sky and down at Bomber, who had a look of terror on his face. " We gotta get out of here's!" He exclaimed. Link turned and looked back at the graves again, the now more frequent rain drops were drenching the once dry dark stone.  
" Where do we go?" Link asked him, looking away from the stones.  
" Well to my house, of course! C'mon!" He said, and turned to run down the dirt trail as the rain began to pour down on them. Link followed him quickly down the cemetery and back through the wooden sign overhead, into the canyon trail and back to the village. As they exited the trail and emerged quickly into the town, they saw that the carpenters and everyone else that was outside had also begun to seek shelter from the storm that was now dropping small hail stones onto the ground. Link and Bomber ran passed the construction site and towards the well, where the stairs below it were now becoming slippery with icy hail. A loud clap of thunder rolled as they ran down the stairs and back towards the lone tree in the middle of the village. As they approached it, they turned right, up some longer stairs to two more buildings that were nestled alongside a wall of light brown cliffs at the foot of Death Mountain. There was a tall, broad gate of metal and stone blocking the trail up to the mountain and a guard stood unmoved by the storm, keeping it safe. They reached the top of the stairs and the two buildings on either side of them, and turned to the one on their left. Bomber opened the door quickly and they stopped at its step. He pointed to the guard at the gate.  
" That's my daddy!" He said to Link. The guard waved at them through the thick rain. Bomber smiled and waved back at him. " HI DADDY!" He yelled through the loud downpour. The guard couldn't hear him, though, and just waved him to go inside. " Darn. He cant hear me, oh well, we'll see him tomorrow's." Bomber said to Link as he stepped inside the house. Link took another look at Death Mountain. towering over the village, looking down on him like a giant, he could barely see it through the rain and hail. He stepped inside Bombers house and shut the door behind him. It was a very comforting feeling to shut the door and hear the storm outside suddenly become much quieter. The house inside was very pleasant. It was nicely decorated with curtains, rugs, and nice furniture, and smelt of fresh baked bread. Although it was a little small, it seemed just right for a family of three. " Mommy, I'm home!" Bomber said loudly as they stepped out of the small hallway at the beginning of the house. A woman stepped out of a room to their right wearing a bright blue apron and wiping her hands on a white towel.  
" Oh, Bomber! I was so worried about you out in this storm! Were you out playing in the cemetery again?" She ruffled up his hair and asked him as Bomber hugged her legs.  
" Yeah, I was." He told her. She laughed.  
" Silly.." She said to him as she looked up and saw Link. She almost gasped, she had just noticed him standing there. Bomber quickly jumped and remembered that his mother didn't know who Link was, but there he was in her house.  
" Oh! Mommy, I met a friend today!" He said as he walked over to Link with a smile. " This is Link, he's ten and he's not from around here's." Bomber explained. Link grinned and waved at her shyly. " OH! And he's really scary, too! He scared me really good today!" Bomber was very happy to introduce Link to his mother. The woman smiled and walked up to Link as she held out her hand and grasped Links softly.  
" Well, I'm glad that Bomber now has a friend that is real." she chuckled. Bomber crossed his arms and huffed. " It's nice to meet you, Link. I'm Nifera, Bombers mother." She said as they both shook hands.  
" Hi." Link said to her. Bomber giggled quietly, he could tell that Link was being shy.  
" That is a very interesting outfit you have on.." She said as she now noticed Link's forest-green tunic and hat, and the shiny and gleaming sword strapped to his back. Link looked at his tunic, boots, and back at his sword also as she commented on them.  
" I'm from the forest, if you haven't already guessed that." Link smiled.  
" The forest? Wow, that's quite a ways away from here. Are you traveling, or just visiting? Did you come with friends?" Nifera asked him. Link thought of Dink and Malon, and thought he should leave them out of his story for their sake.  
" I'm, uh.. Traveling." He said. " And I came alone, I don't really know may people this far away from the forest." he said. Nifera nodded and smiled.  
" Well. I'm glad you met Bomber today, I would hate to have you outside in the horrid weather, you are both already soaked to the skin." She laughed, and looked down at Bomber closely where she could see a couple patched of dirt on his hands and face. She looked back at Link and searched him also for any grime, and found that they were both very dirty from the tumble in the dust they had in the cemetery. " And yet, for as wet as you both got, you are still filthy!" She smiled. Link and Bomber both looked themselves over, guiltily gazing at the spots of dirt all over them. " Well, dinner will be done very soon. So I suggest you both go and wash up before we sit to eat. Link felt a little guilty, bringing his muddy self into the woman's house, but not in a bad way. He had actually never been told to clean up before eating, he was getting just a taste of what it was like to have a mother, and for being told what to do, he kind of liked it. " Oh, Link.." Nifera continued. " Do you already have a place to stay for the night?" She asked. Link actually hadn't thought about where he was going to sleep that night, so he shook his head, no. Nifera smiled and was about to tell him something when Bomber suddenly broke out in an exited dance.  
" Ooo! MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY!, can he stay here's?! Please please please?!" Bomber exclaimed.  
" I was just about to ask him, but it's up to him whether or not he wants to." Nifera smiled at her jumpy son and then looked to Link for an answer. Link was very happy to have this offer, and gladly took it.  
" I would love to!" Link said. Bomber once again began to jump up and down and dance as he squealed with delight.  
" That's great, sweetie. We would be delighted to have you as our guest." Nifera was happy, but still not quite as happy as Bomber, who continued to jump around next to them. " I'll make a bed for you in Bomber's room after supper, which like I said is almost ready so you both need to wash up." She smiled again.  
" Okay!" Bomber stopped jumping and grabbed hold of Link's arm. " C'mon, Link! I'll show you where the water and stuff is!" Bomber said, tugging on Link's arm trying to pull him towards the other end of the house. Nifera laughed softly at the two as she walked back into her little kitchen. Bomber took him into the back of the house where there were two small rooms on either side of them, and a sink in between the rooms in front of them. " You pour's the water from this pitcher and in the sink, then you take this rag and you get's it wet.." Bomber was explaining.  
" I think he knows how to wash himself, Bomber honey!" they heard Nifera call to them from the kitchen. Bomber stopped talking and silently took the rag to clean himself. Actually, Link had never used one of these things, and was happy to get an explanation.

Link lay in his soft cushiony bed later that night listening to the rain drip lightly on the roof above and thinking. What a long and strange day he had had. He looked over at Bomber's little wooden dresser, where the Kokiri Sword and his father's Hylian Shield lay propped against it's side. Two pieces of two totally different worlds, and yet, they were both so very much a part of him. The small candle lit on the wall near the door made a bright reflection on the shimmering gold plating that made up the symbol of the Triforce of Courage on the base of the shield. He wondered if he would every earn that star. For him, that golden triangle symbolized his father, the courageous and patriotic Hylian Commander that seemed to have make such an impact on the people of Hyrule. He hoped that someday he, too, would earn the Triforce of Courage as his father did.  
" Hey, Link.." Said a quiet, sleepy voice from the bed beside him. Link looked over towards where he had thought Bomber was asleep.  
" Yeah, Bomber?" Link answered.  
" What was yer Mommy and Daddy's names?.." He asked.  
" My mom's name was Anya, and my dad's name was Darin." Link replied, now remembering their gravestones that he had found that day in the cemetery.  
" Oh.. My daddy talks about him sometimes.. He says he misses him lots.. And he knows lots of his friends that misses him lots, too.." Bomber still sounded very tired and spoke breathily. " He's yer daddy?.. Wow, wait till I tell mommy and daddy.." It seemed that everyone Link met knew his parents, not only knew, but almost revered it seemed.  
" What's your dad's name?" Link asked him.  
" my daddy?.. His name is Anthan, but he wants me to call him daddy.." Bomber told him.  
" That's nice.." Link said with a sigh.  
" Do you has any brothers or sisters?.." Bomber asked him.  
Link thought about the answer to this question, he really wasn't quite sure. He thought maybe he could call Dink his brother, but that wasn't all accurate.  
"..No." Link finally said. " I don't.." He told Bomber.  
"..Me neither's.." Bomber said almost longingly. He was silent for a moment after he spoke. " We could pretend's we're brothers.. Just fer pretend's.." Bomber smiled with his eyes now closed. Link smiled as well.  
" Ok, Bomber.. I mean, brother.." Link said with another sigh. He too was quite tired now, and within less than a minute he could hear Bomber breathing peacefully now in a deep sleep. Link sighed again and looked up at the window on the other side of him. It had stopped raining now, and he could see the faint sparkles from the distant stars beginning to shine through the thinning clouds above the village. Tiny drops of water still slowly dripped from the roof overhang outside. The slow, lazy drips and the peaceful glistening of the stars above seemed to make him feel even more sleepy. His eyelids became heavy, and slowly he began to close them to quickly fall asleep.

Link and Bomber awoke with a start the next morning as a loud bang was heard outside, followed by an angry yell.  
" What are ya DO'IN!?" The man's voice said loudly. " You've just cost us about 200 rupees, you clumsy oaf! Now pick up that mess and start rebuilding that wall!" He yelled. It was the old man in charge of the construction site by the well. " Worthless no good bunch o' lazy-" They heard the man continue to go on. Link and Bomber both sighed and yawned as they rubbed their eyes and looked out the window. Aside from the rude awakening, it was a very beautiful morning. The sky was blue and there wasn't a cloud to be seen in it.  
" Hiya, big brother!." Bomber said as he looked down from his bed at him. Link looked away from the window and up at the boy's cheerful little face smiling down at him.  
" Hey, little brother." Link replied with another yawn.  
" Did you sleeps okay?" Bomber asked him. Link nodded and sniffed the air. Something smelt very good. " Mommy's makein' ham for breakfast, it smells like." Bomber said as he sniffed the air as well. " Yummy, I like ham. Do you, Link?" Bomber asked him.  
" Of course!" Link smiled and sat up.  
" Good! Let's go get some!" Bomber jumped out of bed and ran out of the room. Link laughed, he had never seen someone so full of energy, especially so soon after waking up. He stood up off the bed and stretched with yet another yawn, then walked over to grab his equipment from by the dresser.

" Well there you are!" Nifera said as Link walked into the kitchen with his weapons already strapped to his back. " Are you going somewhere already?" She asked him when she saw him looking as if he was prepared for a battle. " If you had plans to leave early, I'm afraid I'm going to have to spoil them, because you're not going anywhere without some ham." She said with a smile, serious but not angry. Link thought it over, he really wouldn't need to have his weapons on just to eat breakfast. So he loosened the buckle on his sheath strap and took them off for now.  
" The pig's already dead, Link. It's not gonna jump up and bite'cha." Bomber jokingly teased him about bringing a sword to the breakfast table. Link smiled and sat down across from him. " Mommy?.." Bomber asked.  
" yes, honey?.." Nifera replied.  
" Is daddy gonna come and eats breakfast with us?" Bomber asked his mother.  
" yes, just as soon and Mr. Jaymor comes to take his place at the gate." She told him. Bomber smiled and clapped his hands together excitedly. Nifera slipped on some oven mittens and opened the oven door.  
Anthan arrived at the house no later than ten minutes after they had woke up, and within an hour, they had all inhaled the ham and the side of eggs that Nifera had cooked, and they were all quite full. Bomber tried as best he could to do as he was told and finish everything on his plate, while still trying to tell his parents all that he and Link had talked about the night before. Anthan was especially surprised and delighted to learn that his young guest was the son of his former Commander, and asked Link many questions about where he had been living these past years, and if he had been to see Idien yet. Link didn't tell them much, and he still left out Dink and Malon, and the Sacred Stone he was carrying. Nifera cried a little when Link told them that he had found his parents graves yesterday, and that he didn't know he even had parents up until two days ago. Link didn't want to trouble them with everything he had done recently, and found it best that they didn't know most of it, so he decided to casually change the subject when the opportunity came.  
" I don't think I've ever eaten something so good in my entire life!" Link complimented Nifera on her cooking. Nifera smiled very happily back at him.  
" How sweet. Well you're welcome, honey." Nifera said, daintily dabbing her mouth with her napkin.  
"…Bomber? don't you have something to tell your mother as well?.." Anthan said to his son across the table. Bomber was a little confused and looked from his mom to his dad and back again.  
"B-but, I always eats stuff like this, and I has eaten things more good before.." Bomber said innocently. They were all silent, Link tried as hard as he could not to snicker at that seemingly harmless statement.  
" Bomber, that's not what I meant.." Anthan said. " And I know you're talking about your mother's pumpkin cinnamon loaf cake, but I was talking about your breakfast."  
" What about's my breakfast? Ooo! Are we having pumpkin cinnamon loaf cake today?!" Bomber was very excited and clapped his hands together. Link leaned over and whispered in Bombers ear.  
" He wants you to say thank you to your mom…" Link said. Bomber now looked quite humiliated, and blushed as he held his head down.  
" Thank you fer breakfast, mommy…" He said to Nifera. She stood up from the table, walked over to the boy and kissed him on the top of his head.  
" You're welcome, sweetie.." She said with a smile. Bomber looked pitifully up at his mother and smiled.  
After Nifera had cleared the table, the all sat in the sitting room on soft couches and chairs and talked about the day ahead of them.  
"Jaymor is off duty at three O' clock this afternoon, and I'll be taking over for him then. I probably wont be off till around eleven tonight." Anthan told his wife, who was sitting close next to him on a the love seat. Bomber and Link sat side by side on the two cushioned chairs and listened. The chairs hadn't been next to each other originally, but Bomber insisted on moving his chair closer to Link's.  
" Why is the gate to the mountain so heavily guarded?" Link asked Anthan.  
" Well, it didn't use to be, not like it is now. Some strange things have been going on up near its summit, and not just the usual eruptions." Anthan told him.  
"Like what kind of things?"  
"Well, the Gorons that I've talked to say that someone has blocked the entrance to Dodongo's Cavern with a huge rock and they cant get any food out of it anymore. Along with that, their chief, Darunia, has locked himself in his chambers and has been there for almost three days. They even say that he has taken the Sacred Stone of Fire from its alter and is keeping it in there with him." Anthan explained. Link knew that all of this had something to do with Ganondorf, and for that matter, himself. This was going to make getting the Ruby a lot more difficult. " All the Gorons are in a fit, from what I hear, they are coming close to starvation up there. Some of them say that Darunia has taken the stone to protect it from the rest of the Gorons, they say that a few of them tried to eat the ancient thing!" Anthan almost laughed, but held it back. Desperation for food in starvation wasn't really something to get a laugh out of.  
" Eat a rock?! That's silly!" Bomber exclaimed as he shook his head. Link agreed, even if he was on the brink of death from lack of food, he would never try to eat something like a rock.  
" Rocks are what the Gorons eat, son.." Anthan told him. Both of the boys were very dumbfounded to hear this.  
" They eat… rocks? You mean, as normal food?" Link asked him. Anthan nodded, and Nifera smiled at their surprise and the looks on their faces. " Well.. Then, why are they starving? There are plenty of rocks up there, the entire mountain is made of rocks!" Link wondered.  
" Yes I know, but the Gorons only eat certain rocks, I don't know exactly what kind they are, but they can only be found in Dodongo's Cavern. Stones like rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds are a rare delicacy for them, so I can imagine Darunia's concern for the Sacred Ruby." Anthan held his wife's shoulder and pulled her a little closer to him. Nifera held his hand and looked up at him. " I wish there was something the Royal Guard could do for them.." Anthan sighed.  
"… I still think its silly…" Bomber said to them. Anthan and Nifera looked over at their son, who they knew to be full of his own opinions and not afraid to voice them publicly. Link sighed, he didn't know what to do. He couldn't just waltz up there into the village of a bunch of starving Gorons, ask for their most prized and precious possession, and then leave them with nothing in return. This was going to be more difficult that he thought. Through the silence of the room and the thoughts of dread he had of going up the mountain, he thought of Dink. He still had no idea where he was, or if he was alright, and he wished more than anything that he would just show up unexpectedly before he left, wanting very much not to have to face this task alone.  
"So.." Anthan could sense the feelings of unhappiness and thoughtful sadness that the current conversation had stirred up, and changed the subject. " What are your plans, young Commander?" He looked over at Link with a smile. Link's thoughts of dread did not disappear with the new discussion, and he looked up at the man without a smile.  
"Um.." Link sighed as he thought of how exactly he would tell these kind people that he, a ten year old boy, was going to venture up the steep, rugged slopes of an active volcano, enter the village of starving, rock-hardy Gorons with terrible dispositions and major attitudes from lack of nourishment, and ask them for their Sacred relic. He almost winced at the thought himself now that he really thought about the situation. At this moment, he thought maybe it might be better to tell them why exactly he had come to the village in the first place. The family anxiously awaited his reply to Anthan's question. " Well.. I've actually been sent here by Zelda to talk to the Gorons.." He said quietly. There was a pause, and Anthan began to laugh.  
" Oh my! You're full of ideas! Hah, now, what are you REALLY going to do?" Anthan said, with a hint of laughter still inching its way out of his throat. Link didn't say anything. Anthan's smile faded, the stern look on Link's face and the fact that he had just pulled out a paper signed by the Princess, told him that the boy was being very serious. Link handed him the note from Zelda saying that Link was, in fact, on Messenger Duty from her to the Gorons. He sat back down quickly and for some reason almost felt guilty as Anthan read the paper. He didn't know if he was doing the right thing in telling Anthan this, Zelda had said to keep it a secret, Idien couldn't even tell Malon when she had asked. He silently and dreadfully awaited the soldiers response to this new knowledge. " You can't be serious! What kind of game has our princess come up with now?!" Anthan said loudly.  
" What?! What does it say, daddy?" Bomber launched out of his chair and ran to his fathers side. Link began to sweat nervously, what was Anthan going to do? Would he keep him from going?  
" It says…" Anthan paused and irritably cleared his throat to read the paper aloud. " This is Link. He is under my orders to save Hyrule. I, Princess Zelda, give him permission to enter any part of Hyrule he pleases with severe consequences to anyone that attempts to hinder his quest.." Anthan paused. " Signed: Zelda, Princess of Hyrule." He finished. Bombers jaw dropped ten feet.  
" woooooow!" He said. Anthan folded the paper and looked back at Link, all three of them did. Their looks were piercing, and Link felt as if he had done something terribly wrong and unforgivable, although he didn't know why.  
" And how on Earth does the Princess expect me to allow such a young boy to enter the mountain alone?!" Anthan asked him. " The Commander wont even let us soldiers up there right now, and especially not alone!" Link didn't speak, he hardly dared to move. He looked back and forth between him and Nifera, who seemed to be very worried and almost terrified.  
" You're not seriously thinking of going through with this, are you?.." Nifera asked him. Link took a breath, and nodded solemnly. Nifera closed her eyes and held her head down.  
" Then I suppose there's nothing we can do to stop you.."  
" Like hell we cant!" Anthan said angrily. " I'm not going to let Darin's son venture into his own death under my watch!" He yelled. " Whether under the Princess's orders or not!"  
" B-but daddy.. Zelda said that there would be severe conse.. cons.. Con-see-kenses fer anyone that tried to stop him.." Bomber stuttered in a vain attempt to repeat Zelda's use of formal language.  
" My guess is that she sent Link on this mission without her fathers consent, we'll just see what the King has to say about this!" Anthan stood up in a fury.  
" NO! please!.." Link stood up and said loudly. Anthan stopped short and turned to him, shocked at Links reaction to this. " I- I mean, you don't need to tell him, he doesn't need to know.." Link said, now regretting his decision to reveal his plans to the soldier.  
" And what do you mean by that?" Anthan asked him, still clutching Zelda's note tightly in his grasp.  
" I.. I just mean that, there's no need to trouble him with it, that's all, he has enough to deal with right now. And besides, I don't think he would really care, do you?" Link was a little doubtful that his choice of words and arguments would sway Anthan's mind.  
" Have you been to see the King since you've been in the Castle Realm? Do you even have any idea how hard he and Commander Idien searched for you?!" Anthan asked. Link had no reply, this question seemed to have nothing to do what he had asked, and he wished Anthan hadn't brought it up. " Six years. That's how long they looked. Six years of nothing but disappointment and heartache. All us soldiers knew how terribly it pained them, the effect showed in everything they did, everything they told us to do.." Anthan said to him. Link was absolutely silent, he felt glued to his seat, and hardly found the nerve to breath. " I was a part of the last search, when Idien rallied all of the soldiers, every last one of us, and combed over all of Hyrule. It lasted ten days, and when Idien and the King were completely convinced that either you had disappeared into thin air or had been killed the day of the battle and by now you had been long gone… we went home." Anthan finished, and stared at Link with terribly angry, but incredibly loving eyes. " So now you ask me, does he really care?.." He said, his voice now quieter and softer. Link said nothing, he felt terrible. How could he have been so discerning? But how could he have known that he held such meaning to the King? He had never even met him. " Of course he does.." Anthan said after a moment. Through the silence of the house, Link heard Nifera sniffle and he looked over to her to see her wipe her eyes. He hated what he had just done, and how the looks on all of their faces mad him feel. The way Bomber held his head down in uneasiness to his fathers anger and his mothers sadness.  
"…I'm sorry.." Link finally said. Nifera slowly stood up and walked over to him, gently grabbed both of his shoulders and stood him up. She wrapped her comforting arms around him and rubbed his back tenderly.  
" it's alright, it's not your fault.." She said. Bomber walked over to them and crowded his arms between Link and his mother to clasp them around Link's waist. Link felt very awkward for the almost minute that it lasted. Nifera let him go, put her hand on his shoulder and walked over to her husband. Bomber continued to squeeze Links middle, with no sign of letting go any time soon. " Anthan, I think we should let him go.." Nifera said to the still brooding man as he stood in confused thought. Link looked up at them in anticipation and surprise. Anthan gazed back at him with a look of reluctance to agree with his wife. He stood and tumbled this thought in his mind for another minute while Bomber continued his attempt at cutting Link's legs off with his constricting death hug.  
" I.." Anthan began, he didn't quite know how to word this, he looked at Zelda's letter in his hands. He knew that Zelda, young as she may be, was still the crown Princess, and had almost as much authority over this land as the King himself. He couldn't go against her orders, however negatively they pushed against his own desires. He would have to allow Link to enter the mountain, he could not stop him. He breathed out an upset sigh. " I wish you would reconsider what you are about to do.." He said to him. " I wish you wouldn't do this.."  
" You shouldn't worry, I'm sure the Goron's wont harm him, and there haven't been any eruptions in almost two days. But even if there were, the boy has a shield, I'm sure he'll be fine." Nifera tried to reassure him.  
" An eight pound shield wont stop a two ton molten boulder.." Anthan said to her. Nifera quietly gasped and gave her husband a look of shock at what he just said. " I'm sorry, but it's true! That mountain is probably one of the most dangerous places in all of Hyrule right now!" This was all Link needed, to hear yet more about how terrible, deadly, and horrifying the place he was about to enter was.  
" If you're under royal orders, then I cant stop you." Anthan said justly to Link. " But I'm not going to encourage you, or try to soften the appearance or description of that place. I wont lie to you, and I am most definitely not going to help you kill yourself." He said. Link nodded solemnly, he expected this.  
" Alright, I understand.." he replied.  
" So you're going then, are you? There's nothing we can say that will make you change your mind?" Nifera asked. Link shook his head no, and Nifera sighed.  
"NO LINK!" Bomber yelled, clenching his tiny arms even tighter around Link's waist. " I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO!" He whined " You'll get's a-squashed by a big rock if you go's up there!"  
" No I wont, not if I'm careful." Link said to the weeping boy. Bomber looked up at him tearfully.  
" B-but what about's the Goron's? aren't you a-scared of them?"  
" No way, don't you remember? I can scare anything, they wont bother me, don't worry little brother." Link smiled at the little boy. Bomber sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve.  
" Yeah, hee hee, I remembers. You're really scary, those Goron's better look's out for you!" Bomber smiled and stepped back from Link.  
" Alright.." Anthan sighed and handed Link Zelda's note. " You better be off, it's a long hike to the Goron's city. If you have any hope of arriving before it gets too dark, you better go now." He said, and turned to open the door. Link nodded and followed, along with Nifera and Bomber. The air outside was damp and chilly, the sun still partially behind the hill beside the slowly spinning windmill. It was still quite early, and the shadow of the western hills and the towering windmill stretched across the dark green carpet of the Village floor below them. The grass at their feet sparkled with dew, and the cool steam rose from the nearby rooftops like thin wisps of smoke and disappeared into the golden rays of the still rising sun. The village was quite accept for the ongoing construction below the hill, the peacefulness of it all made Link not want to venture up into the dry, barren, roughness of Death Mountain towering over them like a monster. The door shut behind Bomber as he stepped onto the grass behind them. He shivered and clasped his mothers warm hand. Link looked over towards the Mountain gate and the guard standing beside it.  
" Good morning again, Jaymor." Anthan called to the man.  
" Hi mister Jaymor!" Bomber waved to him also. The guard smiled and waved back at them.  
" Morning, folks! Beautiful day, aint it?" Jaymor said cheerfully.  
" Alright, lets go. I can take you a ways pass the gate to avoid confronting Jaymor, but after that you're on your own." Anthan said to Link quietly as Link stepped beside him. He and Anthan began to walk up the steps in front of them and to the gate. Bomber picked up his frozen feet and tried to follow, but Nifera grabbed his hand and stopped him. Link looked back at the boy, who, yet for Link's attempted reassuring words, was still worried that Link might not ever come back. Link smiled and waved back at him.  
" I'll see you in a while!" He said. Bomber waved back solemnly.  
" Bye, Link.." He said. Nifera held her sons shoulders comfortingly and waved goodbye to Link as well. Link turned and continued up the stairs with Anthan to begin his quest up the Mountain.

The Castle Town Market was as busy as ever on a warm autumn day. The rain of the day before was almost totally unnoticeable except for the small puddles in the cracks of the stones and the crystal drops falling from the trees and rooftops all around them. The only thing different about this particular day was the occasional group of soldiers that would patrol up and down the cobble stoned square and through the alleys every now and then. Idien had taken the day off and put Brontas in charge of the shop while he, Talon, and Malon sat in an outdoor café dear the entrance to the market. He would nod at the soldiers as they walked pass them, in an attempt to reassure the obviously worried men. But he himself wasn't quite as assured as he hoped his officers would think, he sat leaned back in his chair facing sideways to the small round table and tapped his butter knife slowly on the smooth blue cloth. All around them people hurried about, Idien hoped that none of them would get worked up about him looking so down and troubled.  
" The situation up in the castle has gone for the worse, I fear.." Idien said to Talon, who had taken a sip of his coffee and milk latte and the evidence dripped from his bushy mustache. He wiped his face on his sleeve and set his cup down.  
" That guy from the Desert, you really think Link was right about him?" He asked. Malon looked from her father to the Commander, she could see that they were both troubled, and could sense that something was going on, something bad. Idien sighed.  
" I think he is. From what I hear, that guy has been stirring up delicate subjects with the King, and he is worried for the Princess."  
" What about her?" Malon butted in. Idien stopped thumping the metal knife for a moment and looked at her.  
" The Gerudo man, Ganondorf, it seems that he has taken quite a disliking to her. No matter when or where he and the King meet to discuss his complaints, he demands she be taken out of the room before he will say a word." Idien explained.  
" why do you think he doesn't like her? Is she mean to him?" Malon wondered.  
" No, but I do know that she doesn't like him at all either. I don't blame her, the guy obviously hates the monarchy that the land has been ruled under for the pass ten years. His whole reason for traveling to the Castle was to complain that the King doesn't care enough about Gerudo Valley and its inhabitants. Its my thought that he doesn't really want the King to care, but his anger and pure dislike towards him lead him here just to put more troubles on the Kings mind." Idien sighed again and Malon silently grasped her cup of apple juice in front of her and took a sip in thought.  
" So, why has he stayed for so long? He should have been out of here days ago." Talon asked with a suspicious squint of his eyes.  
" I was wondering that myself. I haven't discussed this with the King, but to me the man seems dangerous. If what Link told me about him is true, he has more than just social complaints on his agenda." They were all silent for a moment, and Malon turned her head to look behind her. High above the town buildings and foothills was Death Mountain, where she knew somewhere near it, was Link. Suddenly, as she gazed blankly at the mountain, she saw a small, dark figure standing under a shady tree by the stairs to the Temple of Time. She gasped and looked straight at the person, she thought it looked like Dink. For a moment she smiled with delight, but there was nothing there, just the dark brown trunk of the tall tree shaded by the coloring leaves. She let out a breath of disappointment as she turned back around and held her head down. Idien and Talon both had the idea of what was troubling her. Dink had been missing for more than two days, and only she and Link seemed to be that worried. She tried not to think of it too much, and attempted to comfort herself with the thought that maybe Link had already found him. This idea didn't really help, as hard as she tried to make it.  
" So.. What of this boy, Dink? I hear he's been missing for almost three days." Idien asked. Malon perked up a little and looked up at him.  
" Yes, he must have ran off somewhere in the middle of the night. Link and Malon here looked for him as much as they could yesterday.." Talon replied. " I-I just don't know about him, Idien. He seemed a little.. Off.." Talon was very careful about his choice of words around his ten year old daughter. Idien gave him an odd look. " If you had met him, you'd understand. He was just so,.. It was almost as if.. Just being around him made you feel so.. Strange.. And not to mention the fact that in appearance, he and Link were almost identical, that was one of the strangest parts about him."  
" Identical?.. Now how could that be? You mean like, he was dressed to purposely look like him?"  
" No. I mean they were almost exactly the same! Dink was just colored differently." Idien thought for a moment, it wasn't possible, or even probable that this boy could be Link's twin.. There was no way.  
" hmm.." Idien said after a minute. " well, I cant wait to meet this kid, lets hope we find him.." Malon could tell that Idien wasn't hoping to find him for a good reason, he seemed almost afraid for some reason. She pretended not to notice and took another sip of her juice.

Link had been gone for three days, in that time, Bomber had not left his chair by the window in the kitchen facing the Mountain gate, but to eat, sleep, and relieve himself. He hardly said a word to either of his parents, and every now and then, would think that he saw Link's small, green figure walking slowly around the rocky bend of Death Mountain Trail.  
" Bomber, honey, be patient. He'll come back, don't worry." Nifera said to her son as he stared silently out the window. It was late afternoon on the third day, and Nifera, for her patience and assuredness that Link was going to be alright and that they had done the right thing in letting him go, was getting worried herself. Anthan was on guard duty, and a few times that day, Bomber had seen his father glance behind him through the bars of the gate searching for Link as well. Bomber sighed, but didn't move from his spot.

Link walked slowly down the steep, rugged trail of the mountain, stepping over small rocks and avoiding the big ones that sometimes looked a little unstable. He had been right in thinking that this task was going to be very difficult. At first, the Gorons scared him a little, but surprisingly, none of them were really aggressive. Actually, most of the ones he met were quite friendly, but he did almost get knocked off a cliff by Dunter, the Goron that Idien had warned him about. And at first, Darunia didn't believe Link when he had told him that he was a Royal Messenger, and became very angry at the King for treating him, his sworn brother, so unserious. But somehow, Link wasn't quite sure how, Darunia calmed down and made him a deal. In return for the stone, Link had to reopen Dodongo's cavern and rid it of the beast guardian that had been placed inside by, as Darunia had confirmed Link's fears, Ganondorf. He had blocked the cavern with a giant boulder, and put the monster inside to insure that the Gorons would fear to enter even if it was to be opened somehow. Link had the hardest challenge yet in finding a way to open the cave, and not to mention, facing that terrible beast. He found it odd, but very helpful, that one of the main crops grown by the Gorons was the Bomb Flower, a plant that explodes with incredible force soon after being picked. It was quite simple, but very dangerous after Link had discovered this flower, to blast the boulder out of the opening. Darunia was as happy as he had ever been when Link had miraculously accomplished the task set before him, and admitted feeling quite stupid in not thinking of the Bomb Flower in the first place. He willingly handed over the Sacred Stone of Fire to Link, without even asking why. And on top of that, for all his happiness and gratitude towards Link, had made him his Sworn Brother also. Link had done what Zelda had asked and had obtained the Gorons Ruby, the sacred stone of fire. The Kokiri Emerald and the Goron's ruby weighed heavy in the bag he now kept them in as he stepped down the dirt trail. It was a warm day, and he was happy to now be going back to Kakariko Village. He rounded a bend in the trail and saw the corner of the stone and metal gate leading back into the Village. He slowed his pace to a silent creep and edged himself as close as he could to the dirt wall of the path, he wanted to surprise them. Stopping at the edge of the bend that would leave him right behind the gate, he peeked his head out from the wall took a quick look around. Anthan still stood at the gate, solemnly and quietly guarding the tall, barred barrier. Link looked beyond the gate to the little brick house below. He could see the window that Bomber had been keeping a look out of. Coincidently, Bomber had let his guard down to change out of his dirty clothes that he had spilled milk on only a minute ago. Link smiled and stepped quietly behind the gate, accidentally moving some loose gravel as he went. He winced at the noise he made and quickly flattened himself against the stone gate, making sure not to make any more noise. But it was already too late.  
" Who's there?! Show yourself!" Anthan said loudly, and peaked through the bars to look around. He couldn't see Link presses against the stone. " …Link? Is that you?" He asked as he continued to scope the trail. Link sighed and stepped out from his hiding place.  
" good afternoon!" Link said with a smile. Anthan's face brightened into a very happy grin and he quickly opened the gate.  
" Link! It is you! My, you're alright!" Anthan said. " Wait till Bomber and Nifera hear, they've been worried beyond words!" Link stepped onto the grass and Anthan shut the gate behind him. " I may have regretted letting you go up there by yourself, but it seems that you've taken good care of yourself. I was a little worried when that eruption hit yesterday morning, though.." the guard explained.  
" Oh it wasn't so bad. It was just a small one, only a few rocks even made it down to the trail." Link said.  
" Oh that's great, hey, why don't you go inside and surprise them, and we can hear everything when I get off in about, lets see, twenty minutes" Anthan smiled. Link nodded and turned to walk down the steps to the house. " and Link.." Anthan called to him. Link turned around to face him again. " You're one brave, reckless young swordsman.. But I'm as glad as ever that you're back in one piece." Anthan seemed a little skeptical at Link's seemingly harmless hike up Death Mountain and the fact that nothing bad had happened at all. Link nodded again and turned back to the house. The Village had hardly changed since he had left. The construction site was almost exactly the same as it was when he had left, and the crazy cuccoo lady was still afraid to catch her rebellious fowl, which less to his surprise were still running wild around the Village. He was happy to be back, and even though he knew he would have to leave again soon, he thought he would try to delay the next venture as long as possible.  
" LINK!" Link heard the shrill and excited voice of the young boy as he opened the front door of the house to see Bomber just exit his room. Link shut the door behind him just in time to free his hands as Bomber bolted to him and plastered his arms around his waist yet again.  
".. Link?" Nifera had been in the kitchen, from which a wonderful odor was wafting out of. It reminded Link of the first time he had met Nifera, when she had come from the kitchen wiping her wet hands with a white towel and wondering who had entered her house. " Link! Oh my, it is you!" She smiled happily and also put her free arm around his head as she kissed the top of it. They both released him, and Link, for all his gladness of their caring, was quite grateful to be free again. " How was your trip?"  
" Yeah! Did you fights any monsters?! Or, or, scare any Gorons?!"  
" Oh, they were completely terrified of me! The Gorons were too!" Link exclaimed. Bombers eyes widened and he grinned I big, partially toothless smile as they all laughed.  
" Heh, I told you's mommy! I told you's Link was gonna be alright!" Nifera rolled her eyes with a smile and ushered Link inside.  
" Wonderful, Link! It's so refreshing to see that you're back safe! Now, come in and we'll get you something good to eat!" She said as they all walked into the kitchen. Suddenly they heard a loud cry from outside.  
" ATTACK! ATTACK! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" It was Anthan. Nifera ran to the window near the front door and looked out, Bomber grabbed a hold of Links arm with a terrified gasp as his mother gaped out the small window at what was going on. She gasped and ran back to them.  
" Bomber, come here! Stay close to me and don't go near the windows!" She said as she grasped the little boys hands and held him close to her.  
" Mommy! What's going on, mommy?!" Bomber started to cry as she pushed him and Link into the sitting room. She didn't tell him, and instead reached out and tried to get hold of Link to keep him safe as well, but before she could even touch him, he was headed for the door. " LINK!.." She yelled, but he was already outside with the door slammed behind him. What stood at the entrance to the Mountain Trail was something that made his heart skip a beat, and before he even thought twice about it, he had drawn his sword and shield and ran to the aid of the four guards fighting off the attacker. It was the terrible King Dodongo, a giant, fire breathing lizard monster clad in a thick coat of rock hard skin, the terror that Link had thought he had soundly defeated in the depths of Dodongo's Cavern and locked away in a bed of hardened lava. But there he stood, blood dripping from the side of his immense head and horribly burnt patches of skin covering almost his entire body. Anthan, Jaymor, and the other two soldiers tried to keep him at bay with their long spears, forming a tiny, loose wall in front of the creature and jabbing at him with all their might whenever he tried to step closer. The monster was furious, and wildly swung his large limbs and tail in every direction, sending what was left of the now demolished Mountain gate flying everywhere. Anthan dashed forward and stabbed him through a thin spot in his armor under his chin. The monster roared deafeningly and spewed a column of flame more than twenty feet into the air. Link skidded to a halt right beside the other three men as Anthan tried to loosen his spear from the Dodongo's throat, but it was stuck. He tugged as hard as he could on the weapon, franticly lurching backwards with all his might in a desperate attempt to quickly get away from the beast. Jaymor ran to assist his friend and dropped his own spear beside him, grasping Anthan's in front of him. King Dodongo wasn't about to let them away so easily. He brought back his gigantic arm and swung at the struggling men with all his strength. Anthan and Jaymor were sent flying into the hard, red dirt wall beside them and struck it with such terrible force, Link was sure that they were dead. He could barely see the two through the thick cloud of dust that had been suspended into the air, and he and the remaining two men, unfortunately, did not have any time to find out whether they were alive or not. The monster had already recovered from the attack, and ripped out the spear protruding from his massive neck. His attention now turned to them, and as they readied for the worse, his and Link's eyes suddenly met. King Dodongo's eyes widened and he snarled lividly, his disgusting, yellow, blood stained teeth bared tightly as sweltering smoke blasted from his nostrils. The other two men hadn't even noticed Link standing there until now. They gasped and jumped out in front of him.  
" Get back, boy!" one of them turned to him and yelled.  
" I'm not going anywhere! L-LOOK OUT!" Link raised his sword, the man turned back to face the monster just in time to be flung to the side by the back of his arm. King Dodongo no longer cared to bother with the soldiers or the village, he had found what he had come for. He slowly stepped towards Link, his anger seemed almost to pour from his piercing eyes. Link had been the one that had imprisoned him in that molten pond hundreds of feet below the surface of the Earth, and it was Link whom the beast was going to take his revenge on. With three soldiers lying motionless around him in the dust and rubble of the Mountain gate, and one soldier barely able to stay conscious, Link was left alone to face this demon and keep the villagers safe. Suddenly the beast launched forward at him, his lethal jaws opened wide in attempt to snatch his small opponent in one gulp. Link jumped to the side and rolled out of his way, causing him to land clumsily on his stomach in surprise. Link regained his balance and held his sword with both hands. All of a sudden, he felt the hilt become warmer as he held it, as if it had been lying next to a warm fire for an hour. He looked down at the sword and almost dropped it when he saw what was happening. The entire blade was glowing in a green aura of flame-like light that caused the emerald on its hilt to shine uncontrollably and sent a rush of power into his arms. He felt no fear, and lunged forward to attack the still distracted Dodongo, plunging the shimmering blade into his side. There was a blast of light that exploded from the entry point as Link quickly withdrew the sword and King Dodongo unleashed a gut-wrenching howl. Link took a step back away from him as he stood up slowly, lifting himself onto his legs one by one and looking side to side for his enemy. He just stood there for a moment, keeping totally still but for his underbelly which rose and fell with every weak breath. He had been pretending not to notice Link out of the corner of his eye, and suddenly slid his tree-like tail across the ground where Link had been standing. Link had no time to react, and the tail struck his legs with incredible force, knocking him backwards onto his back and sending the Kokiri Sword flying out of his hands. Link gasped and gritted his teeth, his left leg gashed and bruised by King Dodongo's jagged skin. The monster turned himself around and faced Link lying on the ground, weaponless and un able to stand. Link helplessly glanced over to his disarmed sword at least ten feet away from him, it had now stopped glowing. Was this it? he thought. Was King Dodongo going to finish him off for good? He closed his eyes and readied for the worse. Suddenly King Dodongo let out yet another ear splitting shriek, Link opened his eyes to see what had happened, but before he could see who had saved him, the beast fell to the ground in front of him with a lifeless thud. Link was shocked, and looked around to see if one of the soldiers had gotten up and struck him from behind, but all four of them were still lying motionless on the ground. He didn't know what to think. Who had finished the beast off? There was no way that what little damage Link had done had killed him. Everything was now very silent, but he could hear the doors of a few houses shut behind some of the villagers who had now begun to emerge from the safety of their buildings. Some of the carpenters had even hidden in a few partially empty crates of bricks around the construction site, and they groaned stiffly as they flopped out of them. Link sat up and tried to inch his way onto his feet, disarming his soot covered shield and setting it carefully onto the ground beside him. Putting all of his weight onto his right leg, he could feel his blood slowly rolling down his skin and into his boot. He didn't really care about his leg now, he just wanted to make sure Anthan, Jaymor, and the other two soldiers were all right. Nifera and Bomber were still huddled together on the floor of the sitting room, and even though everything had gone silent, Nifera wanted to be sure before she let her son go anywhere.  
" NIFERA!" Link shouted to her from outside. She jolted her head up and looked towards where Link's voice had come, and quickly stood up. Bomber didn't dare let go of his mother, he still wasn't convinced that everything was sound, and Link's unsettling yell for the woman's aid didn't help that fact. Nifera and Bomber rushed to the door and she threw it open. " Nifera, I need help! Please, don't let Bomber come outside!" Nifera gasped and almost fainted as she saw the massive, lifeless body of King Dodongo lying next to her house, and almost did so again when she saw her husband included with the other motionless soldiers lying next to the defeated beast.  
" Bomber, get back inside, now! And shut the door quickly!" she said, ushering the worried and crying child back into the house. There was no telling what would happened if Bomber saw what was going on, Link and Nifera didn't want to take a chance finding out.  
" mommy! What happened to Link and Daddy?! Mommy!" Bomber cried loudly as Nifera shut the door in front of him and ran to Link, behind her, she could still hear the desperate cries from her terrified son inside the house. She fell to her knees at Anthan's side and put her hand on his face, he and Jaymor still weren't moving.  
" I-I don't know what to do.. Are they.. Are they.. Gone?" Link asked her. Anthan's armor was severely dented and broken in several places, and blood coated the side of his face. Jaymor was no better off, his arm was visibly broken and from the blood dripping from his mouth, it looked as if he had lost a few teeth.  
"..no." Nifera finally said after feeling their chests for breathing. Link sighed with relief, but knew that even though they were alive, their injuries were still severe.  
" They need to be inside and tended to, we need more help to carry them."  
" I can help you with that.." They turned around to see one of the battered and dirty soldiers standing behind them. " Soldier number 284, Linny, at your service, ma'am." the soldier bowed to her. Nifera stood up and walked to him.  
" Are you sure? You don't look much better yourself.."  
" I'll be fine, don't you worry about me. Me injuries be not as bad as they may look, Ma'am. Now, lets get 'em out o' this frigid air, don'tcha say?" He said to her, and walked over to Anthan and Jaymor. " Oh, and my friend Fenton over there's knocked out cold, now I'm pretty sure as he's alright, he just need's a bit o' shake in' an maybe some water splashed on his face." Linny pointed to the unconscious guard lying on the ground beside the dead Dodongo, and Nifera walked over to him to try and awaken him. Linny kneeled down next to Anthan, Link, and Jaymor to remove the soldiers heavy armor and ready them to be carried. " I do believe this belongs to you.." Linny handed Link the Kokiri Sword, he took it and slid it back into it's sheath. " Was that you young lad, that killed the beast?" Linny asked him. He glanced over at the lifeless monster lying defeated with piles of broken stone scattered all around.  
"..no, it wasn't me.."  
" Well, who was it then? There be no other soldiers or other brave souls as willing as you or I to confront anything other than a cow or chicken in this here village." Linny continued to un strap Anthan's armor as they spoke. " An he's got a mighty bad stab wound on the back o' his neck, no one other than you here's got a sword, not to mention, a sword small enough to make such a tiny wound." Link didn't know what to say, he had no idea who had saved them. Suddenly he began to feel dizzy and weak, he almost fell over on Jaymor but caught himself before he landed. Linny stopped what he was doing and helped Link regain his balance, just now noticing the terrible slice on his leg. " You're bleed in' out, boy!" he said. Nifera walked back over to them, helping Fenton, who was still a little out of it, limp across the grass, she saw Linny holding Link up from falling forward.  
" What is it? What's wrong with Link?"  
" He's got a mighty nasty cut on his leg, an he's bleed in' bad. If he don't get somethin' to stop it now, there'll be nuthin' left to stop!"  
" No, don't worry about me.. Help Anthan.." Link spoke without even knowing what he was saying. He knew he couldn't just let himself bleed to death, what about Dink? He already knew that because of his decision to take on King Dodongo, that Dink was also somewhere out there bleeding to death. This thought terrified Link even worse than the thought of his own death, but what could he do about it now? "..I'm.. sorry, Dink.." Link said weakly.  
" What's he talk in' about?! He don't know what he's say in'! hurry and get him inside, I'll tend to these guys. Go on!" Linny stood up and carefully lifted Link off the ground. Nifera let Fenton go and took Link from him, holding him gently in her arms. Linny grabbed Fenton's arm as Nifera hurried down the stone stairs to her house.  
" Bomber, open the door for mommy!" she said as she reached the front door. Bomber opened the door quickly and gasped as his mother came rushing in carrying Link. " please get mommy some clean towels from the closet in Mommy and Daddy's room!" She said as she lay Link on the couch in the sitting room. Bomber didn't move, he stood motionless in the middle of the room starring terrified at Link's bleeding leg. " Quickly, baby!" Nifera shouted. Bomber suddenly burst out crying uncontrollably. Nifera stood up and ran to her son, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and trying to calm him down. " Honey, everything is going to be alright, but I need you to be a big boy for me, ok?" Bomber nodded. " Link will be ok, but he needs his little brother to help him now." She told him.  
" ..OK.." Bomber wiped his nose, ran to his parents room, and came back with an armload of clean towels. He handed them to his mother and kneeled down next to her.

CHAPTER 7  
Secrets of the Hylian Ranks

In Hyrule, any news could spread relatively quickly considering the size of the realm and the unreliability of the recently established postal system. Depending on what had happened, where it happened, who was involved, and the distance from where it happened to the place where the news was traveling, something big could probably be known by more than half of Hyrule within a day. Something like what had just gone on up in the peacefully secluded Village of Kakariko which concerned a terrible mountain beast, the lives of four of the Kings soldiers, and one young boy, could reach its closest neighbor Castle Town within two hours. Which is just what it had done on that day.  
" They say the boy slew the mighty beast single handedly!" one peddler told a large crowd. " with nothing but a dagger and sheer courage!"  
" That's not what I heard! I heard the monster had killed the four soldiers and wounded the boy so that he bled to death!"  
" But then how do you explain that the monster is now dead?"  
" I was told by my friend who lives near the mountain gate, that the soldiers had been cast aside by the beast who then went for the boy. He didn't even care about the soldiers! He wanted the boy dead! The last she saw of him, her neighbor was carrying him into her house, he must have been pretty hurt!"  
" But that still doesn't explain how the beast was killed!" the crowd continued this argument for at least an hour before things began to get out of hand. Some people started yelling loudly, insisting that their version's were the truthful ones and any others were nothing but folly. One man became so angry that he threw his fist into another man's face, basically breaking his nose and causing him to stumble backwards. Idien had heard the rabble from up in his loft above his shop and had come to settle the dispute. He caught the man before he fell to the ground and stood him back up.  
" C-Commander!.." sputtered the man who had landed the punch. The crowd very quickly fell silent and the peddler slid down below his booth in attempt to go unnoticed.  
" What is the problem here?! Have you all lost your senses?!" Idien asked them. No one spoke. " I want to know what this is about, someone speak up!" Idien crossed his arms and stood firm, he wasn't going anywhere until he knew what had caused such a ruckus. The peddler slowly stood up from behind his counter and looked around at the group. He was actually the one that had ultimately started this, um, discussion.  
" Eh.. We were just discussing the news of what has happened up in Kakariko, Commander, sir.." The peddler spoke, and the crowd cleared a way so that Idien could see him. Idien uncrossed his arms and strode quickly up to the man.  
" Kakariko? What has happened?" He said, sounding very visibly and desprately concerned.  
" Well, um, there seems to have been an attack on the village by a ferocious Mountain beast. You know, those fire breathing lizards called Dodongo's? yeah, yeah, only this one was real big! A monster of the deep, they say!" The peddler was becoming quite excited over his story. " Yeah, anyway-"  
" The beast killed four soldiers and a young boy!" someone shouted out from the crowd behind them. Suddenly the entire bunch became worked up again, shouting and moving about, Idien turned around to face them all.  
" QUIET!" He yelled, everybody clamped their mouthes shut again, getting the Commander angry wasn't something they thought of as a good idea. Idien took a deep breath to calm down, looking all around him at the silent crowd to assure that they stayed that way. Some of the nearby shop owners had stopped what they were doing and were gazing curiously at what was going on. Idien saw Brontas step slowly behind the wall of worked-up citizens, he had seen the instability of these people that Idien had come to confront alone, and came to back him up should anything get out of hand. The large man towered over the people who were clueless to his presence and nodded assuredly at Idien as he crossed his arms. Idien nodded back at him. " Now then.." Idien began again. " If there is anyone here that was actually present in Kakariko at the time of the attack, they are to be the only ones to speak! We are all adults, do not make me treat you like school children!" He explained loud and clear. " I want the truth, I want to know everything that went on up there, every last detail! Now were any of you in Kakariko at the time?!" No one spoke for a while after Idien had gone silent.  
" Um, sir..?" a tall, black-haired woman standing in the front of the crowd quietly addressed him, slightly and cautiously raising her hand…" I was."

It was only slightly after noon on that day, but Talon was still asleep, and totally cluless about the goings on in the market below. Talon and Malon had both been staying in town with Idien for the past four nights. Even though the current state of the affairs in the Castle were now quite threatening and something bad could befall Castle Town any day now, they were both still concerned about Link and Dink. Talon insisted on staying in town until they both turned up safe, and Idien had been very adamant about not making Talon pay for a room at the town Inn. The loft of the blacksmith shop was quite warm and cozy for the frigidness of the autumn weather outside, and Malon sat kneeled on her bed by the window, looking out at Idien and Brontas retaining the rabble of men and women, and trying as hard as she could to hear what they were saying. After Idien had yelled for them all to be quiet, all talk had been very silent. Malon stopped her attempt at eavesdropping after only a few minutes of hearing nothing but quite talk, and decided to just sit silently on her bed until Idien returned. Not ten minutes passed, and she heard his hard, fast steps quickly climbing the stairs up to the loft. She hardly had time to sit up before he burst through the door and rushed inside, slamming the door behind him. Talon instantly awoke with a jolt and clumsily flopped out of his bed and onto the floor.  
"What?! What's going on?!" Talon said nervously as he quickly sat himself up on the floor and propped himself up against the bed behind him. Idien stood in the center of the room, breathing heavily and clearly disturbed by what was on his mind. Malon stared at him, silently and suspensively waiting for him to say something, anything, she wished this awful silence would end.  
" I've just received word from Kakariko. There's been an attack on the village" He finally told them. Malon shot out of her bed and rushed to Idien, grabbing hold of his arm and clasping it tightly.  
" A-and what about Link?…" Idien looked down at at her for a moment and kneeled down to her level, all the while Talon sat breathlessly awaiting the answer to this question that he had found himself unable to ask.  
" He was hurt while aiding four of the village soldiers fend off the attacker. It was a Dodongo, a monstrous one. The Gorons and the people of the Village called him King Dodongo…" Idien told them.  
" My god.. Just the usual Dodongos of the mountain are a fright to behold.. Is he alright?" Talon asked, finally standing himself up.  
" He didn't fare too well, but his injuries are far less severe those of two soldiers that were also involved. Link sustained a bad leg injury and was rushed into a house. The two soldiers were thrown into a wall and were battered and broken from head to toe."  
"S-so Link, he helped these soldiers, did they kill it?" Malon tugged on Idien's arm softly.  
" Yes, and from what I hear, Link was quite the hero. He rushed out of the safety of a house to aid the men and never once backed down, not even when he was forced to face the beast alone."  
" Alone?! You mean he killed it all by himself?!" Malon exclaimed excitedly and shook Idiens arm.  
" Now doesn't that just sound like something Darin would have done? Fearless and tough as iron." Talon grinned as he thought about it.  
" Yes it most certainly does. But there's something about the way the beast died, Link actually wasn't the one that killed it." Idien said.  
" He wasn't? well, then who was? One of the other soldiers?" Malon asked.  
" No, all of them were out cold when he finally fell dead. Something happened, something that niether Link nor any of the soldiers had any part in. But no one saw anything, it just fell dead." Idien explained in a tone that suggested he was in deep thought as he spoke.  
" So is Link coming back now? What about his hurt leg? Did they fix it?" Malon wondered. Suddenly, out of the noise of the on-goings down in the square, they heard a loud shout coming from below the window on the streets.  
" Commander Idien!" the man's voice said. All three of them went the the closest window and looked down at him. It was a Field Soldier, he stood next to his grey and spotted horse and held his hand over his eyes to shield them from the bright sun above. He quickly stood up straight and held his hand firm in a salute when Idien reached the window. " Field Soldier number 265, Mero, sir!" he said.  
" Soldier.." Idien saluted him back and Mero continued to shade his eyes.  
" Permission to enter the Commander's quarters, sir!" Mero asked firmly.  
" Granted. Come on up, Mero." Idien waved the man to come up and Mero handed his horses reigns to Brontas as he rushed into the shop. No sooner had he disappeared from view then they had heard a knock on the door. Idien opened it and Mero stumbled inside holding his helmet in his arms. He caught himself and stood up straight, trying to cover up his clumsiness in front of his Commander. Mero was a young soldier, he had only been on the force for three years. He had short dark blonde hair and green eyes, and stood barely eye level with Idien.  
"Sir." Mero gasped between heavy breaths.  
" What's so urgent, soldier?" Idien asked him.  
" I bring news from Kakariko, sir!" he finally said. Talon put his arm around Malon, who held her father's hand in anxiousness to hear what this news was. " All five casualties have been accounted for, sir. Head soldier Anthan has a broken shoulder and has sustained a severe head injury. He is still unconscious. Soldier number 134, Jaymor, has a broken arm, leg, and jaw. He has also two cracked ribs, sir.." Mero explained. Malon's heart began to race and she gasped to hear how terrible these men had fared. Idien and Talon were equally shocked and awaited the rest of Mero's news. " soldier number 284, Linny incurred a sprained arm, but he advanced to aid the others and is doing fine. His comrade, Soldier number 276, Fenton, took a rock to the head and under went a moderate concussion, he is also doing well at the moment, sir." Mero continued. " The forest boy that aided the men was slashed on his left leg and nearly bled to death.." he stopped for a moment and stepped closer to Idien. " Sir.. Did you know that this boy is the former Commander's missing son?!" Mero asked Idien quietly. Idien didn't know why Mero was trying to keep this a secret from Talon and Malon standing behind him.  
" Of course I know! And there's no need to silence yourself from these people, they are the ones that brought him here!" Idien said irritably. Mero quickly stood back and looked a little embarrassed. "Anyway. What about him, how is he doing at the moment?" Idien asked him.  
" oh yeah, uh, the village Shaman has been on the scene for about an hour. The boy's leg is nearly healed and they say he should be up and on the road again before the day is out. Anthan and Jaymor will take a lot longer though, sir. The Shaman said it would take at least a week or more to heal them both." Mero finished.  
" On the road again? Where is he going now?" Malon asked from behind Idien, who turned to look at her.  
" He didn't say, little lady. All he said was that he needed to get a move on quickly." Mero explained to her. " Anyway sir, the beasts body has been taken up into the mountain. The Goron's were kind enough to take it off our hands." Mero smiled. " Will that be all, sir?"  
" That will be all soldier." Idien stated, and Mero saluted him, turned around, and shut the door behind him as he left.

The room was quiet, the door was shut, and no one was to be seen around him. Link slowly awoke to the comforting soletude of Bombers tiny bedroom. Next to him on the night stand was a large saucer full of fresh water and a clean towel. As he sat up in the warm bed he felt a slight twinge in his wounded leg, he winced and reached under the blankets to rub it. He was a little shocked to find that it wasn't bandaged, and there was hardly a bump left where he knew he had been severely gashed. Out of the quiet, the door to his left slowly creaked open and Link saw a curious green eye poking through the crack. Suddenly the door flung open and Bomber came rushing to his side, an enormous smile stretched across his little face.  
" LINK!" He yelled. Link braced himself quickly before the excited child launched himself onto the bed and wrapped his arms around Links shoulders. Through the jumbled mess of flailing arms and flying blankets, he saw Nifera standing in the open doorway smiling at them.  
" Now careful Bomber honey, don't be so rough. And you know you're not supposed to jump on your bed, even when there is someone between you and the mattress." She said in a typical motherly voice. Bomber stopped jumping and instead sat on his knees and sort of bounced in excitement. Nifera walked up to the side of the bed and felt Links forehead. " No fever, that's good. Do you feel alright sweetie?" She asked him.  
" I feel fine." Link told her. " My leg, there's no cut on it anymore. Did that even happen yesterday?" Link wondered.  
" I'm afraid it did. But the good news is thanks to the village Shaman, Rallis, you're pretty much totally healed. You can even get out of bed if you'd like." Nifera told him.  
" Yeah, c'mon Link! I want you to meet someone!" Bomber said excitedly and yanked the blankets off of him. Link shivered and goose bumps began to form all over his skin . He had felt so warm and cozy under the blankets that the cooler air of the bedroom that his bare legs were now exposed to was some what of a shock. Nifera took his hand as he made his way out of the bed and onto the cold wood floor.  
" It doesn't even hurt. Where are my boots?" Link asked happily, anxious to get out of the house.  
" They're in the sitting room by the front door, I'll go get them if you'd like." Nifera smiled.  
" No that's ok, I'll do it. Thanks though." He thanked her and walked quickly out of the room as Bomber sprung from the bed onto the floor and ran after him. As Bomber and Link exited the room and stepped into the small hallway, Link couldn't help but notice the form in Nifera and Anthan's bed. He stopped and looked into the dark room. The curtains were drawn, and Anthan's dented armor lay propped against the wall next to their dresser. He felt a hand on his shoulder as he gazed into the room.  
" He hasn't woken up at all since it happened. Rallis says he wont for another two days, maybe more." Nifera explained solemnly. " Even then, he will not be able to return to his duty as a soldier, his injuries were far too sever. But I count my blessings that he is with us now at all." She smiled sadly down at him and rubbed his shoulder. " And you too." She told him and gave him a light hug. " Now you had better go and put your boots on. That child will be here complaining that you're going too slow if you don't show up in the sitting room soon." She said.  
" Yeah, ok." Link replied and with a last look at the heroic downed soldier, he turned and walked away. Nifera stood alone in the doorway gazing solemnly at her husband. Slowly she reached for the handle of the bedroom door and began to pull it shut.  
" Sweet dreams darling." She said softly and quietly shut the door.

Link had been a few minutes later than Bomber in entering the sitting room and getting ready to go outside, but he still ended up having to wait for the seven year old to put on his sandals. It would have taken a lot less time if he hadn't denied his mother the ability of aiding him in the endeavor. After the few minutes of struggling and pulling, the efforts paid off not only in the fact that Bomber now had his sandals on, but the enormous smile and sense of accomplishment etched across the young boys face. They finally exited the house, the fresh air was extremely welcoming even though quite cold. Link at this time wished that he had a giant fluffy coat that covered his entire body but left his face exposed so he could breathe in the crisp autumn air. Standing in the grass below the small flight of stone stairs was Linny, Fenton, a young boy, and another man. Link didn't recognize the man or the boy, but the fact that Bomber called out to them made it obvious that Bomber did.  
" HEY!" He yelled excitedly. Everyone in the group stopped talking and turned their heads towards them and Link could now see the faces of the two newcomers. The man had long dark brown hair tied back with a leather string. His face and his green eyes seemed stern but gentle and a short beard wrapped its way around the bottom half of it. He wore a dark tan coat over a brown tunic, the coat was tied at the waist with a large belt that had a grey and shine less belt buckle. His pants were also brown, just slightly darker than his tunic, and ended as they were tucked into his black, knee length boots.  
They boy that was with him also had green eyes and seemed to resemble him, which was why he was assumed by Link to be the mans son. His hair was also dark brown, and long enough to barely touch his eyebrows if it hadn't been spiked up the way it was. Link noticed that he looked no older than he himself, maybe even perhaps younger than himself, but no younger than eight. He wore a dark blue tunic over a white undershirt and another dark green arm length shirt that he used to cover his hands to keep them warm. His pants matched his long sleeved shirt, and like his fathers, also ended in a pair of boots. His however were brown.  
" Oi, there he is!" Linny said happily as he waved them both down. He and Bomber trotted down the stairs and onto their level. " There be the young daredevil! Back from the mend I see! Gave us quite a scare you did there master Link!" Linny said as they both stopped and joined the circle.  
" Really I don't see why. I felt fine!" Link stated matter-of-factly. The whole group began to laugh.  
" What a champ you are son." Linny patted him on the shoulder.  
" My big brother Link is real tough and scary! No stupid little cut could kill's him!" Bomber said proudly and almost seemed a little aggravated. This time it was not only a laugh that was heard, but a roar of laughter that erupted from every man there.  
" I believe you may be right little man." Fenton said, wiping a tear from his face.  
" Ai, this young lad here saved the lot of us. Kakariko may've been joinin' the great ruins of Hyrule were it not for him." Linny said. "But alas, in the time before the beast was slain he managed to take out some o' the best of us." He paused. The laughter ceased and all was silent. " Those brave soldiers may yet be alive but neither of them will ever return to their sworn duties as soldiers to the King. Which is why I sent for master Sorell here. I had hoped for two able bodied soldiers but the Western Provinces it seems have use for most of them." Link perked up a little. A soldier all the way from the Western Provinces? What things he must've seen, Link thought. " Master Link, I would like you to meet Sorell, he'll be taking Anthan's place as head guard." Link stepped forward and grasped the tall mans hand that he had held out and shook it firmly.  
" Hello Link, my name's Sorell. This lad here is my son Terrian, I've been told he's about your age." Sorell smiled at him and stepped back. His son took a step forward and also shook Links hand. Link could tell he was the son of a soldier by the firmness of his grip and the fact that he looked him straight in the eye as he spoke.  
" Hi, I'm Terrian. I'm nine, that makes me a year younger than you and two years older than Bomber." He grinned. Bomber seemed cross.  
" You know you don't have to keeps saying that every time you see's me, Terrian." Bomber crossed his arms and huffed as he scrunched his eyebrows together, pursed his lips, and looked sternly up at Terrian. Terrian stepped closer to Link and spoke quietly to him.  
" I only do it because I just love to see the face he makes when he hears it." He and Link both laughed. Bomber did not.  
" Hey now be nice to the little lad there you two." Linny said to the two older boys.  
" Yes sir." They both replied.  
" We were just playing with you, Bomber. Come on lets go do something." Terrian apologized to Bomber, who smiled and forgot all about it at Terrians notion. " May I sir?" Terrian asked his father, who nodded and the three boys rushed off and down the stairs to the lowest level of the village.  
" Say Link, where are you from anyway?" Terrian asked as they reached the small tree in the center of the area near the village entrance. " Wait let me guess. The Forest, right?" He asked.  
" Yeah how'd you guess?" Link asked him.  
" I can guess where everyone's from just be looking at their clothes. It's a natural talent. I'm full of natural talent, you know." Terrian stated quite boldly. Bomber looked at him funny. " Hey and I've also been meaning to ask you, what's the deal with the weaponry? Are you planning to go to war?" Terrian asked with a sarcastic grin.  
" If it comes down to it maybe. I'm hoping it wont." Link said.  
" Oh you're talking about that guy Ganondorf up in the Castle, arent you? That guy's a joke. He wouldn't start anything."  
" He already has." Link told him. The whole while they talked Bomber walked around with his hands held behind his back kicking the ground and waiting patiently for them to stop talking and play with him.  
" Yeah anyway, that sword is really neato, can I try it?" Terrian asked. He didn't want to start an argument. Link was hesitant. After all, it wasn't just any neato sword, it was a sacred relic.  
" Hey don't worry, I'm not going to snap it in half, I know how to use a sword." Terrian assured him. Link withdrew the blade from its sheath and held it out for him. Terrian was thrilled.  
" Wow, are those real emeralds? That's awesome. And that's the Sacred Stone of the Forest! This sword must really be something, hu?" Terrian held the sword out and flipped it around. All of a sudden he began to jump around, swinging the sword and slicing the tree behind him with every step he took. After a few swings he stopped and admired his work in the bark of the tree as he handed the sword back to Link.  
" Wow Terrian! Yer really good!" Bomber was in total awe as he gawked at the markings in the tree.  
" Not too bad if I do say so myself." Terrian said.  
" Not too bad at all." Link agreed. Terrian had made a perfect Triforce symbol in the trees bark with the cuts of the blade. Not a slice out of place, three perfect triangles. "Have you ever used your skills in a fight? You definitely have the skills of a good fighter." Link asked him. Terrian sighed and shook his head.  
" No, father hasn't let me into a real fight yet. He said I'm too young." He said sadly.  
" Nuh uh! Yer almost as old as Link! And Link killed a lizard!" Terrian and Link both burst out laughing.  
" It was a little bit bigger than a lizard, Bomber!" Link laughed.  
" Yeah, just a little." Terrian slapped his knee and gasped for breath as he laughed. " But still, you're right. I think I'm old enough, but father doesn't." They both stopped laughing. " You're so lucky not to have anyone to tell you what to do.." Terrian said to Link, catching himself afterwards though, maybe he shouldn't go there, he thought. " But father wont even let me have a sword of my own, he thinks I'd hurt someone like he did.." Terrian was beginning to seem angry.  
" Yer daddy hurt someone?" Bomber asked. Terrian said nothing, almost trying to fight back tears.  
" It was a long time ago…" He finally said. " My older brother, it was five years ago, I was only four." He began. " My father would practice sword fighting with my big brother Kenthan, he was six years older than me. His armor wasn't on right, he tripped on a stupid hole and fell on his sword." Terrian looked down and away to hide his face, but Link could tell he was crying.  
" But that wasn't your dads fault, it was just an accident." Link said.  
" No it wasn't! It was his fault! He put Kenthans armor on wrong!" Terrian said loudly in dissagreement, looking up at Link with a wet face. Neither Link nor Bomber said a word, they didn't want to get him any more upset than he already was. Terrian looked away again and wiped his face on his sleeve. " No matter. It's just dumb that he wont let me use a sword because of his stupid mess up. I could be better than him, I would be better than him. And one day I'll show him." Terrian spoke almost to himself as he sunk in his sadness and anger. A moment passed, and Terrian finally spoke again. " Anyway, thanks for letting me use your sword, Link. Don't tell my father I used it, ok?" A smile broke through the deep covering of buried sorrow, but Link could tell it was still bothering him, and had been for a while. Terrian walked away from them and headed back up the stairs to the group of men still conversing amongst themselves. Bomber and Link were still standing by the tree when he reached the men, and from what they saw of the way Terrian acted towards his father, he didn't seem angry at him at all. Maybe through five years of hating his father and blaming him for his brothers death, he learned to totally hide his true feelings.  
" Does this mean we're not gonna play anything?" Bomber asked. These touchy and mature subjects didn't seem to make much of sense to the toddler, and he therefore didn't think too much of them.  
" I don't think so, Bomber. Not right now, anyway." Link said to him. Bomber sighed, a little irritated that they had gotten his hopes up and then left him hanging. Link put his hand on the boys shoulder and they started walking back up to join the others.

It was a little after noon on that day, it was still early in the day but the autumn sun only contained so much daylight in it. It was already becoming low in the sky and casting long shadows over the surreal mountain village. Terrian and his father Sorell had moved into the loft of a house in the lower part of the village. Nifera told them that the house belonged to a Shiekiah that actually lived in the castle now. It was small, but they didn't complain. Neither of them spent much time in it together anyway. Links thoughts of his quest pressed against his better judgement now more than it ever had when he had started. Something in his mind was growing ever frightful by the day, a threat perhaps, but he couldn't place it. It was becoming harder and harder for him to sleep each night with the same nightmares he had been having since that night at his home in the forest, and the venture to Zoras Domain within the next day was something that, for all the time he had had to procrastinate, he still dreaded. Being wounded and his concern for Anthan and Jaymor had delayed him some, but he knew with every second he stayed in Kakariko, came another second closer to whatever that man Ganondorf was planning. He was still terribly worried for Dink, about whose whereabouts he still had no clue. It still made no sense to him why he ran off, or why he at least didn't tell anyone about it. It had been almost a week, and for all it pained him to do so, Link was going almost ready to give up on his friend.  
For all the bone-chilling cold that the morning had brought, the later part of the day was especially warm for autumn. Some of the summer people even re-opened their stowed away summer clothes and wore sleevless shirts as they took leasure strolls around the village. Even Nifera had gotten out a short-sleeve dress.  
" Everyone seems somewhat back to normal." Link said to her. She looked up from her repairing of a shirt of Anthans and smiled at him. " The gate is almost rebuild and everything, I cant wait for Anthan to wake up and see how well everything is going." He said. He looked out the window in the kitchen at a small group of the carpenters rebuilding the brick Mountain gate. They were arguing of course, they were pretty helpless without the head carpenter, who was still supervising the construction of the building in the village. But at least they were working faster than they would if he was there barking down their throats every few minutes, which he still managed to do anyway, only fewer times and farther between. At that moment Bomber ran into the room. He had no reason for running other than the fact that he was always brimming with unbridled energy. He had a great big smile on his face which he proudly beamed at them both as he entered.  
" Did you wash your hands?" Nifera asked him. Bombers smile flipped upsidedown instantly and he groaned and dropped his shoulders. He turned hiself around and walked back into the small hallway, washed his hands, and came back into the sitting room, his smile revived. "Good boy." Nifera smiled at her son, who then joined Link in looking out the window. Bomber situated himself on a chair beside Link, gazing humorously at the strange and clumsy carpenters as they constantly dropped bricks and tools on their own feet. Every time one of them would get angry and throw a brick at the ground in frustration, both Bomber and Link would laugh, and Nifera would remind them that it wasn't polite to laugh at people, even though every once in a while they would hear a giggle in the backround when one of the carpenters would yell.  
" I'm going to Zoras Domain today." Link said out of the blue as they all sat quietly. Bomber turned his head to him and Nifera quickly looked up from across the room. Although his back was turned to her, he knew the look on her face was a stunned one.  
" Wha- yer leaving us?" Bomber asked, a slight quiver in his lip.  
" I have to. You remember that letter your dad read from the Princess, I'm on a mission." He told the shocked little boy. The look on Bombers sad little face was almost too much for Link to look at. He heard Nifera slowly get up from the couch and walk towards them. She put her hand on his shoulder and he turned around to face her.  
" Must you do this?" She asked him softly. He nodded.  
" Then as before, there is still nothing I or anyone else can do to stop you. You are such a brave young boy." She told him.  
" I don't want you to go, Link! What if I never see's you again?!" Bomber was now sobbing quite loudly as he lurched forward and buried his face in Links chest, wrapping his arms tighly around him. Nifera gently pried her son loose and hugged him as Link got down from the chair.  
" You will, don't worry little brother." Link said to him. " I'll be back before you know it, too!" Bomber squinted glossy-eyed over his mothers shoulder at Link as he turned to leave. A short goodbye would be better for Bomber to deal with, a long and drawn out one would only make his pain stick longer.  
" L-Link!" Bomber yelled and jumped from his mothers grasp, running to Link and once again holding him captive. "C-come back very s-s-soon, or I will m-miss you too much!" Bomber studdered in between short breaths.  
" Goodbye, Link. Be safe, please." Nifera pleaded to him.  
" I will, I promise." Link tried to smile assuredly at the worried mother. Bomber let him go and stood motionless as Link turned and waved goodbye to them. " Please say goodbye to Anthan and Jaymor for me, will you?" He asked.  
" I will, sweetheart.." Nifera said solemnly. And with that, he turned and exited the cozy little house into the coolness of the closing day. He really did not want to leave, not to Zoras Domain. Sure, if he was venturing out to return to Idien he'd think otherwise. But his quest wasn't over, nearly, but still not. He walked away from the house and down the two flights of stairs to the lowest part of the village, sticking his hands in his pockets to keep them warm. He hated this sudden and abrupt sever from his friends, especially now when they had been through so much together. He did take comfort in the thought that now Bomber wouldn't be totally alone with Terrian living so close to him. He stopped at the tree in the center of the clearing and admired again Terrians handy work in carving the perfect Triforce into the bark. He heard a door shut and looked up. Terrian was standing at the entrance to his new house looking somberly at him. He hadn't been told about Links true reason for being in the village, but by the look on his face, he could just tell that he was now leaving. He may never come back, a thought that pained him to think, but it may be true. He hoped that this last quest to get the Sacred Stone of Water from the Zoras would be it for his adventures across Hyrule. He just wanted to find Dink and go home, some answers too would be nice, but nothing seemed too promising. Terrian waved goodbye to him with an uplifting and encouraging smile. Link did the same. Terrian was wishing him happy trails in his own silent way, the only way he knew. Bright yellow light flooding from the open window beside him now was brighter than the daylight in the shadow that the large house was casting. Only half of Terrians small face was illuminated by the firelight. Link nodded a goodbye to him and continued towards the village gate through the worn trail. Turning to exit the village, an owl perched itself on the village sign above him. It gazed at him lifelessly as he passed through the open gate, his back to the cozy little houses and the towering windmill that would keep turning no matter where he was.

It was a quiet evening in Castle Town. Most of the bustling about down in the square had tapered off into just a few people here and there walking around and peacefully enjoying the beautiful fall sunset. The sparkles cast by the sun in the crystal waters of the fountain shone brightly onto the walls of surrounding buildings and its mist created a vivid rainbow. Peace was becoming harder and harder to find lately, especially in the places closest to the Castle.  
"Malon, aren't you going to eat?" Talon set his glass of milk on the round table beside his plate of half-eaten noodles.  
"I'm not hungry is all." Malon replied, half aware that her father was even present.  
"Worrying about it isn't going to make it go away, honey. If anything happens you've got me and Idien and the entire royal guard on your side." Malon turned away from the open window she was gazing towards and looked down at the table in front of her, and sighed. The whinny of a horse from the front of the shop below broke the silence and Malon rushed from her seat to the window.  
"Idien's back!" she said as she stuck her head out and looked down. She waved down at him and watched him tie his horse's reigns to a post and walk into the shop with Brontas. Malon went into the kitchen to make a plate of food for Idien and pour him some milk, setting it all on the table just in time for Idien to walk in the door.  
"Why thank you Malon." Idien smiled as she sat down in her chair beside him. Idien wasted no time in beginning the process of devouring the plate full of noodles, he was very hungry.  
"How was your day?" Malon asked him pleasantly.  
"Quite eventful.." Idien's mouth was full and he covered it politely with his napkin as he spoke. "I, uh, set my guards to a new post according to the Kings sudden change in meeting arrangements with Ganondorf. So far there's been nothing too out of the ordinary that they've seen, other than this change." He paused to wiped his face.  
"What kind of change are you talking about?" Talon asked.  
"Well usually, he and the King meet in open areas with the Kings counselors, advisors, some of the officers, and of course the usual guards. But now he's saying that they are all no longer necessary and wishes to continue his and Ganondorf's discussions in private. Not even his personal guards are allowed to attend these meetings."  
"That's odd, what's changed with the topics that they need be so secretive all of a sudden?" Talon wondered.  
"I haven't heard anything new from my two on-site soldiers, there's been only one of these restricted meetings and there was no way for them to get anywhere near it. They aren't regularly scheduled so it's hard for the men to know when its best to leave their normal posts, but they have an idea that there is going to be another soon."  
"How much time do you think we have before Ganondorf does something bad?" Malon asked Idien.  
"Well that's the question, isn't it?" Idien sighed. "No one can tell, a mind like his is hard to predict. Not long, I fear. We can only hope he gives us enough time for Link and Zelda to do whatever it is they have planned."  
"What can they do, Idien? They're just children, what could they possibly do that the royal guard can't?"  
"They have hope, Talon. And Princess Zelda knows something that we don't, something that obviously involves Link or she would have asked one of the guards to go to Death Mountain. I trust her wisdom and Links courage to follow through with this mission, whatever he brings back here may or may not help, but I have a feeling something is about to happen with or without it." Idien picked up his plate and his empty glass and took them back into the kitchen.

The dark red cloak of the hooded figure standing near an open window of the castle swayed slowly and gently in the cool night breeze. In the inevitable twilight of the days end, Ganondorf could easily picture this land as a place where the sun would cease to shine. He awaited the time when he would be able to unleash his evil upon this land, and his mind reeled with his plans ahead.  
"I hate twilight. It always seems so crowded during the hours that twilight falls, like someone has put the world under a dark blanket and forced it to find a way to breathe." said a man sitting on a chair beside the rooms door. Ganondorf turned slightly and looked at him with a smirk.  
"You are unaware of the power twilight possesses, Kesse. Twilight is an element all in its own, with the power to consume and transform. It can be your greatest enemy or your most powerful ally, a curse or a blessing, to control it would be a mighty task indeed. Though you see twilight as a hindrance, I see it as a very useful tool in the years to come." Ganondorf looked longingly out into the shadowy sky, imagining a way that he might do so.  
"Humph, well perhaps the twilight princess may grant your request." Kesse scoffed with a slight laugh. Ganondorf turned to him again, this time with a look of curiosity in his yellow eyes.  
"Perhaps, if there were such a person, she may." He smirked again and continued his musing out the window. It was a very large room that had been given to Ganondorf for his stay at the castle, it was joined to the room where Kesse, an acquaintance and somewhat of an advisor to Ganondorf, was staying. The room was freezing and the fire in the fireplace was nothing but coals, but this did not seem to bother Ganondorf. His full length window was always kept wide open. Kesse stood out of his chair and walked over to the fireplace, taking the poker in his hand and stirring the coals around to make room for another piece of wood.  
"Don't bother with that worthless fire, it isn't doing this room any good." Ganondorf said to him without even turning around. Kesse scoffed and dropped the chunk of wood back into the box with a thud, robbing a blanket from Ganondorf's unused bed and plopping himself back into the chair.  
"Its freezing in here.. I hate the cold." Kesse grumbled with his face stuck into the blanket.  
"You'll be longing for the cold soon enough."  
"Well until then I'd like to be comfortable at least. The Valley isn't much warmer than here in the autumn, you know." Kesse blew into his fists balled together inside the blanket. "And I'm not going back till tomorrow."  
Ganondorf was silent for a moment. Still unmoved in his standing position.  
"The boy is on the move again." He finally said. Kesse stopped blowing and looked up at him. "I am now positive that he is the one, even without that pathetic Hylian prophesy. I had doubts to begin with, at first I thought that it was that boy from the former Western Provinces, but he is too young. Of course he should come from the unbroken Kingdom, the son of that worthless Hylian Commander. When this lad meets his demise, my revenge will be complete."  
"I wonder, was it fate or mere coincidence that the two things you sought for your revenge would be combined into one? That your vendetta with the Commander and your grudge against Hyrule would be satisfied in one event." Kesse thought aloud. Ganondorf grinned to himself thinking about the plans he had for this so called hero. Kesse shifted himself on the chair and broke Ganondorf's trail of deep thought. His face returned to a scowl as he continued to glare out over the ever darkening land.  
"It's pathetic how much hope these people place in those children." Ganondorf growled.  
"Well, these children have mighty tools, you know, and it is mostly the tools that are doing all the work." Kesse added. "The boy has already obtained two of the three sacred stones, as you have said."  
"And as I have also said, he would not have been able to get them if I had not wanted him to!" Ganondorf growled again. "I need him to open the door to the Sacred Realm, and without those stones and the Ocarina of Time, he will be nothing but a child with a pocket full of rocks, as useless to me as he will be when he has opened the portal."  
"And what of the Master Sword? Don't you believe that it exists?" Ganondorf was silent, his fists clenched in anger as bits and flashes of his memory entered his thoughts.  
"I know it exists." he said finally "But it has been locked away, kept secret for over three centuries. The power of the Sages has been withdrawn from its blade and without that power, it is nothing but an ancient relic. It will be powerless, even in the hands of the Hero of Time." Ganondorf said.  
"I think you underestimate Hylian prophesy a little too much, not just the prophesy but the boy and his princess also." Kesse stated. "If this prophesy is correct then they will be much more powerful than you count on. It prophesied you and your power, didn't it?" Kesse said. Ganondorf shifted his gaze towards Kesse but did not look directly at him. "So what makes you think that he will not be the hero he is said to be if you are indeed the conqueror you've been said to be?" Ganondorf mused silently. If this prophesy were true, a change in his plans concerning this young hero may be needed.

CHAPTER 8  
The Zoras Sapphire,  
The Sacred Stone of Water

A break in the trend of beautiful, sunny autumn days was all Link needed to bring down what little good moods he had left. The early morning was dark and wet, rain poured down from the dreary storm clouds. It was very early, he had an idea that the sun should be just now rising. All he could do was guess since it was impossible to actually see the sun at the moment. A group of frogs croaked and stared lifelessly at him from a log as he walked slowly up the trail beside Zoras River. The rain that had begun just before midnight and had not stopped since, had risen the level of the river by almost six inches. In some places of the narrow trail there were deep puddles that came up past the top of his boots, adding to his pleasant trek all the more. To make matters even more worse, the trail was extremely muddy and slippery. The river had no bank and dropped off into deep, rushing rapids straight from the edge of the trail. He was very careful to take slow and well-placed steps up the steadily climbing trail, wanting very much to not fall into the river. The trail wound on for quite a ways before he saw any sign of it ending. In some places he had to jump across narrow branches of the river and cross over land bridges. "at least" he thought " Someone has taken good care of this path."  
Suddenly there was a break in the constant sound of water, a ripping and tearing sound that came from under his feet. He stopped cold, something that, he did not know, was the worst thing he could have done. The soft bank very quickly gave loose under his weight, the tearing sound coming from sod being ripped apart from the land.  
"HELP!" Link yelled, just an instinct since there was no one actually around to hear it. But before he had even gone below ground level he was being flung to the side, away from the frigid rapids that had come so close to claiming him. He slammed against the wall of the canyon and landed in a puddle as an enormous chunk of sod was pulled away from right in front of him where he had once been standing. Link stood up quickly, dripping wet and muddy from head to toe. " Who's there?!" He yelled. No one answered, in fact, no one was there to answer. He was still all alone. "Ow!" he yelped suddenly, grasping his arm where something had just struck him. He looked around, still no one was near. "Oh, so you save me just so you can beat me up?!" He yelled out through the rain. "Well thanks a lot!" He said aloud. He scowled and turned to walk away, stopping for just a second to look cautiously around him. He just wanted to get to Zoras Domain, to get out of this miserable wet and cold. His first step towards such was hindered though as his foot landed upon something other than dirt (or mud, as it was) He once again came down face first into the soaked grass, getting a mouth full of bitter mud water. He lay motionless, his head turned to the side, and groaned. If he knew any Hylian curse words, he would have used one or two at this moment. With no words, he slowly pushed himself off the ground, his now brown hair sticking to his face. He moved his foot on the ground to get back his footing, and stopped. Whatever he had tripped on was round and smooth, not like a log as he thought it had been. He turned to look, taking his foot out of the puddle and sitting on his knees as he bent over the muddy water. Part of whatever it was was barely showing out of the water, it looked like glass. "A bottle?" he said to himself as he held it up from the puddle. A bottle it was, and a fine bottle at that. Link hadn't seen many glass items before, other than windows. But what he had seen in some of the shops around Castle Town was that glass works were very expensive, what he held now in his hands would be worth about five hundred rupees in any shop. But it wasn't just a bottle, there was something inside it, a small roll of paper. Link stood up and looked around him again. It was getting brighter as the morning grew closer to noon, but that didn't help with visibility since the rain had begun to get heavier. "Who are you!?" He yelled, but was answered with nothing but a very loud crash of thunder. He flinched and almost dropped the bottle. Getting no reply, he cautiously twisted the cork from the bottle's opening and dumped the paper out into his hand. Placing the cork back into the lid and tucking the bottle under his arm, he unrolled the paper.

To whom it may concern,  
Lord Jabu Jabu has swallowed  
me as I fed him. Please save me!  
Sincerely,  
Princess Ruto

"Princess Ruto?" Link said aloud, looking the paper over again. "She must be King Zora's daughter." he thought. Something about this letter was odd and suspicious. For one thing, how could she have written and sent this bottle if she had been swallowed by something? Had she just happened to have paper, ink, a pen, and a bottle with her at the time? And if she could have sent this, could she not have also gotten out herself? And who or what had she sent as a messenger to deliver it? Link thought for a moment, rolling the paper back up and putting it back in the bottle to keep it from getting wet in his pocket. Suddenly there was a splash behind him, as if someone had just ran through a puddle. He turned quickly and shot swift glances all around. "You know, I'm really getting tired of you making these noises and hitting me! If you want so badly for me to know that you're here, then just show yourself!" Link yelled as he once again saw that no one visible was there. There was a long pause as he stood staring down the path.  
"…See you later…" Said a voice that seemed to come from all around him. Link didn't bother to look around him anymore, whoever this was, they weren't going to show themselves.  
"Yeah, see ya.." He said back, his voice almost inaudible in the storm as another roll of thunder boomed and echoed all around.

The front door to Zoras Domain was nothing but a cave under a large waterfall. A rock above the cave's opening protruded from the vertical cliff face and separated the water where it came down, leaving the cave open to enter without getting too wet (which made no matter to him, since he was already as wet as he could possibly be.) The cave was up high from the deep pool where the waterfall ended and became the river. A long, steep land-bridge wound up from the bank below and became parallel with the cave's opening, leaving a gap between it and the cave. As it was still raining, the grass growing on the land-bridge was just as slippery as the grass on the banks. Link literally had to crawl on all fours, gripping handfuls of grass as he went, to keep from falling down into the swirling white-water of the pool below. On more than one occasion he had to take off his boots to get more traction. This made his feet colder than ever, and they ached terribly from it.  
Not a moment too soon, he reached the top and let out a sigh as he straightened out his tunic, belt, and sheath strap and tapped his toes to the ground to make sure his boots were on all the way. The gap he saw as he came up the ramp seemed a lot smaller then than it did now that he stood on its edge. Of course, it would barely be a jump for and adult, but Link would really have to hurdle himself across to make it. He ran for it and made it almost without a problem, a fat raindrop splashed right in his eye just as he jumped, making things blurry when he landed. But he had made it to Zoras Domain, he felt relief for the first time since he had been in Kakariko. A sweet smell flowed from deeper within the cave, and he could see fire light shining around the corner. There was nothing to keep him from running straight towards it.

Kesse stood gazing out his window into the dreary storm, buckling his sword sheath and pulling his long grey hair back into a pony tail. The glass panes were closed, a fire was roasting, and his room was very warm until one of the doors opened and the frigidness of Ganondorf's room over powered the heat. Kesse dare not tell him to close it behind him.  
"Leaving so soon?" Ganondorf grinned. "Why, the fun is just beginning" Ganondorf was clad in black Gerudo armor, prepared for his next secretive meeting with the King. Kesse looked towards him, straightening out his collar and fitting his gauntlets.  
"Not the kind of fun I'm willing to risk my life for. I'm too old to be conquering any more kingdoms, especially if I already belong to it." He said, turning back to look out the window. "I'm looking forward to the dry desert. Besides, Nabara's death has left the fortress all but leaderless, the least I can do is take the command off Nabooru's shoulders. No responsibility such as that should ever be left in the hands of a child." Kesse said.  
"The girl thinks of herself as a queen. The band of thieves she leads call her Nabooru the Exalted, you'll have quite the challenge in taking that power from her if her followers are so loyal." Ganondorf stated. Kesse turned to him.  
"They were loyal to her mother, that is the only reason they pretend to have loyalty to her. If I also claim to rule in Nabara's name, they'll gladly have a wise warrior over a prissy teen." Ganondorf laughed.  
"I do believe you may be correct. But your ruling depends on whether or not the Witches of the Haunted Wasteland will have you as their ruler. They allowed Nabara to rule because she had a strong sense of power and how to use it. Her only flaw was her alliance with the King, to this fact the Witches paid no mind to because they had no quarrel with Hyrule. But if you are to rule when you have a known connection with me, they may take notice. If I am to wage this war on the King, I risk bringing the Desert Province and all of Hyrule to a second Great War. Your aid to me may be taken into account with them." Ganondorf explained. Kesse thought for a moment.  
"But that is only a slight risk, as you have said before. It is most likely that nothing of that sort will happen." Kesse said almost as a question, still weighing out the possible consequences in his mind. Ganondorf grinned darkly.  
"Yes, it is most likely. There will be no one to wage the war after I kill the King." Kesse shot a shocked look at Ganondorf, the grin still stretched across his face.  
"Kill…the King?!" Kesse asked.  
"Of course, once I have done that, seizing his kingdom will be all the more easy. Even if I would not kill him, he would be useless once I had the kingdom, he holds no power or control over the Sacred Realm. His daughter, on the other hand, will be useful. So she shall live." Ganondorf plotted. Kesse sighed and crossed his arms in thought.  
"You would still have the Hylian Soldiers and their Commander to deal with. Once they learn that their King has been killed there will be nothing stopping them from barging into the castle and killing you on the spot." Kesse explained. Ganondorf chuckled.  
"The Royal Guard and the soldiers of Hyrule are a mere obstacle. A fence of sticks that is blown over by the wind, or kicked down by my foot. A Commander is nothing without those he is sent to command, once his force has been destroyed he will flee or die." He paused. "I need only the boy and the tools that he and the Princess possess. Once he has gained access to the realm I can seal him inside it forever so that there can be no chance of him fulfilling any prophesy." Ganondorf almost growled.  
"If this is the case then you must act soon. The boy-"  
"Silence!" Ganondorf held up his hand to interrupt Kesse. "…timid feet approach." Ganondorf said quietly. As Kesse listened closely, he could not hear anything for about ten seconds. Then very quietly there was a knock at the second door which led out into the hallway. Kesse let out his breath and walked to the door to open it. As the doors were opened, there stood a short, skinny messenger boy with a blue hat and a dim yellow tunic, the Hylian Crest imprinted onto its front. He was frightened to begin with, but when Kesse stepped back and he could see that Ganondorf stood in the same room as he, he nearly stopped breathing and forgot what his message was. He stared and stared at Ganondorf's dark form until Kesse broke his gaze by speaking to him.  
"Well? What is it?" he asked. The boy shook his head and looked up at Kesse.  
"Yes, um, Kesse, sir, you're t-traveling party has just arrived in Castle Town and will be here shortly.." He began, and then looked down at the floor, taking many short glances up at Ganondorf. "G-Ganondorf, s-sir. The King will see you now.." He finished. Ganondorf nodded slowly, getting a lot of amusement out of the boy's terror.  
"That will be all then?" Kesse asked. The boy quickly turned his gaze to Kesse and nodded so fast it looked like he was shivering.  
"Y-yes sir, good day sir." He said quickly and turned to walk as fast as his legs could stand without running (which was not proper or allowed for a child to do in the castle.) Kesse watched him round the corner a ways down the hall and then turned back into the room.  
"He was terrified out of his mind." Kesse exclaimed to Ganondorf as he also walked to the door.  
"As all of Hyrule will be soon." Ganondorf grinned to him as he stepped out of the room into the hallway and walked away to meet the King.

Usually dark, wet, and cold, a cave entrance to anything can always give off the wrong impression. For though the entrance to Zoras Domain had been such, the inside was as royal and warm as any castle of any King. As he descended deeper and deeper down the cave, Link was first greeted with a single torch lit in the middle of the path, where he warmed his fingers and dried off his hair and clothes as best he could. Then with the hello from a very strange person (he wondered if he could call them people.) They were all very tall, but for the little ones which he could see were children, and wore no clothes. They had webbed feet and long fins attached to their arms, which along with their entire body, were covered in blue scales. They were obviously a sort of fish people. Their heads came back to long points, like the tail of a fish, and hung down their backs. They were a lot friendlier than the Gorons, as far as strange Hylian peoples go. The guard that greeted him stood at the exit of the cave where it opened up into a very large chamber, he bore a spear and wore a silver helmet.  
As he came closer to where the walkway ended and split into three different paths, he felt the air getting warmer and warmer. The chamber was huge, much taller than it was wide though. It was made completely from rock with smoothly carved walls, on which sparkled the reflection of water all around. A humid mist rose from below the small cliff over the edge of the walkway. He couldn't help but smile widely as he saw what was below him over the edge. An enormous pool filled with sparkling, crystal-clear, blue water shone up at him. Schools of beautifully colored fish swam about with about seven Zoras in the deep water, and Zoran children splashed around in a shallower part. If he weren't so dirty and dressed, he would have jumped in then and there, it looked so inviting, but he would have hated to get even a pinch of dirt in it.  
Looking up and around him, he saw that the pool was fed by a very large waterfall, much taller, but not quite as wide, as the one he had to pass through to get to the entrance of the cave. It looked like it was being poured smoothly from a cup, like a glass curtain over the rock walls. At it's top stood a lone Zora smiling down at everyone, it caught Link's eye and waved joyfully at him. Link waved back with a smile. Suddenly the Zora stepped back and took a graceful lunge off the waterfall. Link gasped, but before he had time to worry, the Zora had already entered the water below in a swift and fluent dive and was swimming very quickly towards him. Link bent down to get a little closer to the waters surface as the Zora emerged, spitting a stream of water out.  
"Hello Link!" she said. Link was a little stunned that she knew his name and couldn't quite get any words out. The girl Zora giggled at him with a wide smile. "Don't be so shocked, we're expecting you!" she said cheerily.  
"You are? How did you know I was coming?"  
"I told them" came a voice from beside him. Link quickly stood up straight and looked at the person.  
"Adiah!" Link smiled as he recognized the guard he had met at the Castle gates. Link reached out his arms and gave Adiah a hug with a laugh of surprise.  
"Well, it's nice to see you, too!" Adiah chuckled. All the while the Zora in the water below them was still giggling. Link backed away from Adiah and looked down at her, a little embarrassed. "Thanks Fedity." Adiah waved to her.  
"Sure thing! If either of you need me, I'll be up at the top of the waterfall!" she said with a smile and dove back into the water. Link turned back to Adiah and laughed.  
"What are you doing here?" He asked "I thought you had guard duty."  
"I did, till Idien said he had a more important job for me." Adiah said happily. "Imagine, me, a messenger to King Zora!" He laughed "I have you to thank for that, if you hadn't been a messenger to Darunia, I wouldn't have been sent. But shhhh, don't tell anyone outside Zoras domain, the King doesn't know I'm here." Adiah said quietly. Link nodded.  
"So why exactly did Idien send you?" Link asked as they both began walking up a path that led around the edge of the chamber and up to another room where the waterfall started.  
"Well, for one thing, King Zora absolutely hates surprises, even if they're good ones. Your sudden arrival would have caused an uproar in this place. And another thing…"Adiah stopped and looked a little more serious, edging his face closer to Links so he could speak quieter. "I'm not supposed to breathe a word of this to anyone other than King Zora, but since you're involved I figure you ought to know."  
"involved in what?" Link asked. Adiah paused and looked around them cautiously.  
"Idien thinks that Ganondorf is planning an attempt to take over the castle.." Links eyes became wide.  
"Already?!" He whispered.  
"What do you mean 'already'? did you know about this?" Adiah was shocked and put a hand on Links shoulder  
"Not exactly, but Princess Zelda said that he would. I don't know how she knew.." Link told him. Adiah furrowed his brow and looked at him worriedly with a sigh.  
"At any rate, it's just precautionary. Idien and his men have no viable proof, only their suspicion and instinct. I have informed King Zora of the possibility of a war, which, as you can imagine, was a big surprise. I hated putting that burden on his mind with his daughter still missing." then Link suddenly remembered, Princess Ruto! Adiah stood up and looked around him again with another sigh. "anyway, Link, it was great to see you again, I'll tell Idien you said hello, shall I?"  
"You're leaving?" Link asked him.  
"Got to, I'm not supposed to be here, remember? Sooner or later they'll notice there's a strange looking scarecrow standing at the gate wearing my armor." Adiah said and began walking back down the walkway to the cave. "Goodbye then!" Adiah shouted back at him with a wave.  
"Bye soldier!" Fedity yelled loudly from atop the waterfall. Link could see she was blushing.  
"Bye.." Link said, not nearly loud enough for Adiah to hear it. He could not believe that he had forgotten about Princess Ruto, and he could believe even less that Zelda's suspicion about Ganondorf was coming true so quickly.  
"Fedity!" Link yelled after Adiah had then gone completely out of view.  
"Yeah honey?" she yelled back.  
"Which way to the King?" Link asked.  
"Oh just keep following that path you're on, it leads straight to the throne room!" She said with a smile. Link ran up the ramp as fast as he could, making sure not to miss a step and fall off the side of the path.  
"Careful, sweetie!" Fedity chuckled.  
After running a ways, he came to a large, square chamber. The path ended on a small flight of stairs at the edge of a shallow pool that made up the floor. Above the pool was a tall ledge painted with many detailed designs of blue, gold, and red. Water ran over the ledge and into the floor pool. To his left was a large archway where through flowed the water from the floor. Obviously this was where the waterfall started. But what took Links attention in this room the most was the one that sat on the flowing ledge. The largest Zora he had seen yet, wearing a short, golden crest on his head and a small red cape that covered his shoulders. He did not sit in the middle of the ledge, but off to the left. The spot on his side assumed by Link to be where the Princess would sit. Link walked up the steps and bowed slowly to King Zora.  
"Link, son of Darin, welcome to my domain." the King said in a deep, fluent voice. Link straightened himself and nodded to the King.  
"Thank you, your majesty."  
"Mm. And what is it you desire of me and my people? How might such as I accommodate a brave lad such as you?" the King asked with a smile. Link reached inside his pocket and pulled out the bottle with Princess Ruto's letter in it.  
"Actually, your Majesty, I have something for you. From Princess Ruto." Link said. The Kings face suddenly became very grave.  
"R-Ruto..? My Ruto?" He asked shakily, his voice sounding very excited. Fedity walked from the waterfalls archway and up to Link, taking the bottle from him and walking up a short ramp to where the King sat. She gave the bottle to him. King Zora took it quickly, opened in, and began reading. He said nothing, but continued to stare blankly at the paper after he had read it. "M-my Ruto… how..? It's just not possible.." He said slowly.  
"Your Majesty?" Fedity said.  
"My Ruto…she's been eaten…" he said, he was breathing heavily. Fedity gasped in horror.  
"…Swallowed whole. By our lord Jabu Jabu" King Zora's eyes were wide, a look of terror etched across his face.  
" Link, you must go and save the princess, I know you can…" the King said, his voice still shaky and quiet. Link didn't know what to say, he stood and looked up from Fedity to King Zora and then back. "Please, a desperate father is asking you!" The King said.  
"I-I will..." Link said. They looked at him silently. "Don't worry Your Majesty.." He said. King Zora sighed and closed his eyes in relief. Fedity looked worried.  
" Very well then. You must enter to Jabu Jabu's alter  
through the tunnel behind the throne. Do not be shocked when you see him, Jabu Jabu is a whale, our mascot and guardian. I know not why he has…swallowed…my princess, but I know that one such as you can save her. I will be deeply in your debt, go now, and take this." The King held out a jar containing a fish. "Open the jar and place the fish in front of him, he will open his mouth, and then you should be able to see the Princess." the King told him. Link tried to hold back a shiver at the thought of climbing inside a whale. He bowed again and began walking up the ramp that led to the throne. Fedity stood at the top and stopped him with a tight hug. It felt weird to touch the Zoran girl's skin. It was not slimy as a fish's, but smoother like a snake's, and wet.  
"Y'all come back now, you hear?" she smiled. "And be careful, I wont be telling that soldier when he comes back that we fed you to our pet fish as a sacrifice." She said quietly so that King Zora couldn't hear her. Link chuckled quietly, but in his mind, this was the closest thing to that. He walked past King Zora, who nodded solemnly at him, and began walking through the long watery tunnel to Jabu Jabu's alter. His boots, that before now had almost begun to dry out, were now completely soaked again. But at least the water in the tunnel was much warmer than the rain and puddles had been. The cave was not very long, and he squinted his eyes as he exited the cave and emerged out into the bright day. It was still cloudy, but instead of the torrential downpour that he had left when he entered the Domain, it was now only drizzle. The alter was basically a lake with a large stone platform on its edge. Water covered the walkway up to the platform which was decorated with jars and banners, and he had to continue wading till he got to the platforms stairs. He saw no whale, just a deep lake, the bottom of which was impossible to see through the dark water. Everything was quiet, no sound but the soft rain on the water and stone. He took out the jar with the fish in it and pulled the large cork, dumping the fish out onto the stone near the edge. Nothing happened, and the dead fish lay there untouched, the rain washing its slimy water away and it drained onto the stone, creating a small stream in the crack between two tightly fitted stones. It spilled over into the lake till all the grey colored water on the stone had been turned back into nothing but clear rain. Link sighed.  
"I'm not diving in there after him." He thought. The grey fish water floated atop the lake, making a small, diluted grey patch that continued to spread out and mix in with the rest of the water. Suddenly a large wake protruded from the middle of the lake, stretching out until it reached the shores and it's waves splashed up against the stone platform. Link stepped back a ways from the edge. What happened next was something that made him wish he could have flown away faster than light. An enormous fish sprung from the lake, taking half the lake with it into the air. It flew towards the platform, Link was sure it would land right on him. These words ran through Links mind over and over as fast as he had time to imagine them.  
"Here lies Link. Squished flat by a whale that decided to sit on him."  
The whale landed, not on him, but nearly four feet in front of him. Water splashed up everywhere, soaking him even more and even knocking over some of the jars. The whole platform shook and Link was surprised it didn't break. The whale stared and stared at him, and he stared and stared back (just about needing to change his shorts.) The fish was tiny compared to Jabu Jabu, Link wondered how he could consider it a meal or even a snack. Jabu Jabu looked down at the fish, and Link swore the whale had smiled. The whale wrenched open his huge jaws and Link saw his teeth. They were nearly as big as he was, and pointy but not sharp. He quickly began to pick up his feet and plunge into the unknown, knowing that the best way to start something you absolutely hated to do, was to just not think about it. The back of the whale's throat became closer and closer, but something shocked him, for it was not his own feet that were getting him there. He was flying, not quite as fast as light and not towards what he had hoped to fly to, but flying none the less. Then he noticed why. Jabu Jabu was inhaling, and doing it very quickly. He didn't have time to turn around, but he knew as he felt something wet and floppy strike his back that it was the small fish being sucked up as well. The light slowly disappeared from around him and he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. He was still in the air, he knew that much. "Why haven't I landed yet" he thought to himself. Suddenly he collided with something wet, slimy, and quite squishy. "Ugh, he's taste-testing me with his oversized tongue!" Link thought. But he didn't stay on the squishy thing too long. Soon he was again air borne, but falling this time down the whale's throat. Link yelled loudly as he plunged into darkness, falling and falling through the wet, warm, humid, smelly cavern of Jabu Jabu's throat. There was light ahead, a small beam through the darkness that came closer and closer. His hopes faded when he fell right past it, for it was only Jabu Jabu's blow hole. Then 'splat!' he landed once again, shaky and wobbly from defying gravity for so long. He was in the stomach of the whale, a place he never I his wildest dreams would think he would have ever been. He made no noise, only his breathing was heard by him, and of course the breathing of Jabu Jabu. Link groaned, it was still as black as black could be. The only hint of any daylight at all was the blow hole above him, now only a small pin-prick of white.  
"hello?…who's there?" Said a small girls voice from within the dark. Link flinched and said nothing. "oh come on! I heard you scream, I know you're there!" said the girl.  
"H-hello?…" Link said quietly.  
"Ah, a boy! From the sound of your scream, I would have sworn you were a little girl." said the girl, sounding very prissy and from the way she was talking, Link could easily imagine she had her nose in the air. He heard her walking towards him slowly and cautiously. "Where are you?" She asked, seeming annoyed that Link was being so quiet.  
"I'm here- right here- no, over here!" Link tried to guide her towards him, he could hear her changing her direction every time he spoke.  
"Don't move around! It would just be harder for me to-oof!" they both gasped as the girl walked right into Link, knocking him down and sending them both to the floor. "Ooo, I told you not to move! Why didn't you watch where you were going?!" she complained.  
"Could you please get off me…" Link gasped. "Your elbow is sticking into my lungs" the girl huffed and clumsily stood up off of him, letting him get up.  
"Hmph, well like I said. Could have been avoided if you had just listened to me." she said. Link rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her. "So, who are you and what are you doing here?" She asked him. Link scoffed at her.  
"I should think you'd know help when you saw…well, felt and heard it. You're the one who asked me to come, you're lucky anyone even found that message." He said to her, he had figured that this was the missing Princess Ruto.  
"Message? What are you talking about? I didn't send any message!" Ruto growled. "And I don't need any help! So you can just go back where you came from!"  
So it wasn't her that had sent the suspicious bottle, thought Link. That only made the suspicious bottle more suspicious. He was baffled that anyone could be so rude. Ruto could tell he was confused, she was annoyed, but she figured since he came all this way he might as well know the truth. She sighed. "Look, I've been coming down here for a long time, almost a week, at least. Ever since Jabu Jabu swallowed my mothers jewel." she explained. "I've been looking for it down here for that long, and I still haven't found it. Jabu's been acting a little odd lately and I haven't been able to get out for the last two days, but not matter, I'm not leaving until I get the jewel back...so you, whatever your name is, don't even need to bother."  
"It's Link…" he replied "so, that's all? You know what kind of worry you've caused for your father? He basically begged me to come rescue you." Link told her.  
"Well if he was so worried about my safety, I wonder why he sent you." she said mockingly. Link glared at her, though he was very glad she couldn't see it. They were both quiet for a while, brooding over how much they disliked each other right now.  
At that moment there was a low growl all around them that seemed to get louder and louder, and the floor of the whales stomach where they stood began to move around. "LINK!" Ruto squealed and lunged for him, wrapping her arms tightly around him. Suddenly the whole place rocked side to side and up and down, like Jabu Jabu was performing acrobatics in the water.  
"Hold on!" Link said to her as they were knocked all around, hitting the walls and landing on what had once been the roof. "We have to get out of here!" he yelled to her.  
"NO! my mother's stone!" she said as a pleading order.  
"Forget it! Is it more important than your life?!"  
"YES!" She screamed as they were again slammed into a wall. Link looked up to where he saw the pin hole of light, now not so far away as it had been before. All was quiet again for a moment, that's when they heard a different sound like rushing water. Link felt his feet becoming wet again, first his boots, then his knees. The water was rising rapidly.  
"His belly's filling up, now's our chance!" he said to her. Ruto tightened her grip around Link's shoulders and buried her face in his chest. She was sobbing loudly. Link took her shoulders and held her away. "Listen, once his stomach is full, we can swim up his throat to the blow hole, then we can climb out!" he explained. Ruto sniffled.  
"O-okay.." she said over the sound of the water, which was now up to their shoulders.  
"Come on!" Link said. Ruto let go of him and they began swimming, the light above them getting closer and closer. Their feet no longer could reach the bottom and the water was rising even faster. Link kicked and paddled as hard as he could, his fathers adult-sized shield weighing him down like a rock. He began to get worried, not because of his heavy load, but because they were going so fast that they might miss the small opening and go straight to his mouth to be swallowed again. Ruto was whimpering loudly, she was getting worried as well.  
"We wont make it!" She yelled.  
"Yes we will! Grab my hand!" he said to her, risking it by swimming with one hand and paddling even harder with the other. The darkness was getting weaker and they could now just barely see each other. Ruto grasped his hand tightly and swam closer to him. Now was their chance, the hole was coming up and they had just seconds to grab its edge. There it was! Link reached out his hand to grab hold, they were nearly out! Suddenly Jabu's throat squeezed into a small opening, as they came to the hole. Their choices were no longer escape or be swallowed again, it was escape or be crushed but the whale's closing throat. Ruto screamed and grabbed hold of Link again. Link grabbed for the edge as fast as he could, clenching his fist against the edge of the opening as tight as he could. But there was no chance. His fingers slipped away from the slimy skin of the whale and he couldn't get his grip back. Ruto closed her eyes tight and once again buried her face in Link's tunic. They had missed their chance, now came the worst.

'Caw…caw' came the call of a familiar sound. Link awoke to a seagull staring lifelessly at him from its perch on his chest. He opened his eyes quickly, gasping as the bird flapped its wings and flew away. He looked around him, sitting up quickly and finding that he should not have done so. His head throbbed and he felt a very large lump on the side of his head.  
"Link? Are you alright?" came a voice from in front of him. He looked up and saw a cute little Zoran child swimming in the lake next to the stone platform.  
"Ruto..?" he asked. The girl smiled and nodded, swimming towards him and coming out of the water to sit next to him. "Am I…am I…dead?" he asked. Ruto laughed.  
"Do you think this is heaven?" she asked. Link shook his head, slowly this time.  
"No, but, what happened?"  
"Well I should have know it, I guess." she began "Jabu Jabu would never do anything to hurt a Zora, or a friend of the Zoras. In fact, he helped us. He blew us out of his hole, remember?" she asked. Link had a terribly confused look on his face. "Of course you don't remember, you barely made it past that part. Well, once we landed in the water, we sunk down deep into the lake. I swam just fine because I'm a Zora, but you, you went a different direction and sunk much faster and farther than I did (probably because of all the things you are carrying and your oversized metal shield.) You hit your head on a rock near the bottom. I caught you and swam you up to shore, and when I got you there, I saw something that I never expected nor expect to see again." She explained and paused for a moment. "My mother's jewel, in your hand." she smiled at him. Link was shocked. " I don't know how you found it, but it must have been shot out of the whale's blow hole with us and you found it before you hit the rock. But it wasn't just that it was there, but also that it was shimmering brighter than I had ever seen it before, and it was glowing. So were your pockets, only they glowed green and red. My mothers stone was glowing blue. I hope you don't mind, I looked inside your pockets and saw what you had in there…" she said. Link was baffled at this and pulled out what was in his pockets. But instead of just his two sacred stones, he pulled out three objects. The Goron's Ruby, the Kokiri Emerald, and one other blue stone. They were all glowing in their own colors.  
"Is that..?" he asked  
"My mother's stone, you might call it the Zora's Sapphire." She said. Link looked up at her.  
"You put it in my pocket?" Link asked her. Ruto nodded.  
"I want you to have it. I don't know why, but you seem to me to be the right person to give it to. I never thought I'd give it to anyone, when my mother gave it to me before she died, she told me to give it only to the man I would marry. My prince, you might say." She said. Link saw from the corner of his eye that she was blushing.  
"Yeah…?" Link muttered.  
"Well, I never break my promises. And you're definitely not the skinny, freckled, dirty little un-kept boy I pictured when we were arguing in Jabu's dark belly. Not that your voice gives off that impression, not at all…" she was stammering, acting quite odd, Link thought. "A-actually…you are, um, quite h-handsome…a-and strong…" she said very quietly. Link also blushed, feeling frightfully awkward to be giving such compliments from someone who had hated him not too long ago.  
"Um, thanks…" he said to her, not knowing what else to say. Ruto was not looking at him directly, just glancing at him every few seconds out of the corner of her eye.  
"At any rate…" She began again, trying to regain her sense of control and once again speaking in her pomp princess voice. She could not cover up her blushing, however, which became even more vivid once she was looking at Link again. "I give that to you to keep the promise I made to my mother. I expect you…" she paused and Link looked up at her, meeting her eyes and causing her to blush uncontrollably. Then she said very quickly "to marry me someday…" she said, then stood up and ran off to the entrance of the cave and towards the Domain, looking back at him only once, but Link could see she was smiling. She caught herself when she saw him looking at her, lost her smile, and kept running till she was out of sight. He stood up from the bank and looked back at the stones. He now had all three of them, his task was complete, he could go back to Idien now. He was so happy and excited, even the fact that it was still raining could not dampen his spirits.

CHAPTER 9  
So Much For Hylian Prophesy

It must have been a rather large storm that had decided to drop in that day. For the rain was coming down just as hard at Hyrule Castle as it was at Zora's Domain many, many miles away, and the two soldiers, uncovered and soaking wet, were quite miserable.  
" I don't like being all sneaky like this, Durel. What if we get caught?" the soldier whispered to the man beside him.  
" Shut up, Marez! I told you to be quiet! And for the last time, who's going to catch us?! The Commander himself ordered us to keep a close watch on that Gerudo guy, and if that means spying on his and the Kings meetings then so be it!" Durel snarled.  
" But that's just what I'm saying! What if the Commander's a little off his rocker? What with that Godson of his coming back and all, he's been acting all weird! 'sides, I don't see anything wrong with that guy, and I don't see any point in risking our ranks and possibly our necks just to satisfy Idien's curiosity!"  
" Hey, you're on duty, you address the Commander properly. I don't care what you think of his sanity."  
" Sorry.." Marez sulked lower after the rock wall that he and Durel were crouched behind. The King and Ganondorf were meeting under a gazebo in an opened courtyard behind the castle. Ganondorf's mood seemed very solemn but casual, as if he was arranging a funeral for someone he hated. The King's was quite different. He seemed frightened and shocked, but not showing it as much as he was feeling it. The walls around the courtyard were very tall and made a rectangle around them, there was only one way in and out of it and it was closed by a vast, dark-wooded door that was barred across from the inside. The King had ordered all guards to refrain from their duties patrolling the walkways above the courtyard, he wished to be completely alone with Ganondorf in this very secretive meeting. The fact that he was being spied on by two of his own soldiers in a steakout arranged by his own Commander had gone totally unnoticed by them or any of the other members of the guard.  
Durel and Marez had been all too willing to cooperate when Idien had asked them to keep an eye on Ganondorf, but after days of nothing out of the ordinary, Marez was getting a little bored. And this storm that had gone on since they arrived was not helping their spirits.  
" How long do we have to sit here?.."  
" Till the Commander says otherwise.." Durel cut him off before he could say another word.  
They sat there quietly for the next half hour, Marez mostly preoccupied with when they would be able to leave, and Durel staring and watching Ganondorf's actions very carefully.  
"They're arguing…" Durel said quietly. Marez turned from his lazy lean against the wall and peered over the edge.  
"What about? Can you hear?" Marez asked. Durel shook his head.  
"No…" he said. " I cant hardly hear anything over this damned rain." he stopped and watched what was now happening, they had stopped arguing. " Wait, what…what's he doing… what's going on?!" what happened was beyond anything either of them could ever have imagined. Ganondorf unsheathed a dagger from his waist belt so quickly that niether Durel nor Marez had time to shoot him. He plunged the blade into the Kings heart without any warning.  
"NO!" both soldiers shouted. The King collapsed dead onto the stone floor of the covered area. Ganondorf shot a stern, surprised look at the two men who were now standing up. "MURDERER!" shouted Marez, who was aiming his crossbow at Ganondorf's head. Ganondorf held back his hand, stepped forward, and threw the dagger straight for Marez.  
"MAREZ!" Durel shouted as Marez dropped his crossbow and Durel could see the dagger sticking from his chest. Before Durel could reach him to catch his arm, Marez fell from the wall and into the courtyard below. Durel looked back towards Ganondorf, who shocked and terrified Durel with a dark, evil smile. Durel ran, Ganondorf had pulled a second dagger from another sheath and was ready this time to take down Durel. He ran as fast as he could, just moments from being out of Ganondorfs line of sight. Not soon enough though, the blade that Ganon had now thrown had stuck itself in Durel's leg. Durel yelled loudly and stumbled, but he did not stop running. He reached the door that led down into the castle and ran down the stairs. Within moments he had reached the banquet hall where a group of soldiers, servants, Impa, and the Princess were having lunch. "TO ARMS TO ARMS! THE KING'S BEEN MURDERED!" Durel shouted as loud as he could, his voice echoing throuout the chamber. Zelda gasped and dropped her cup onto the table as every person in the hall stood up and rushed all around, many maid servants and their children screaming as they ran. A soldier helped Durel get the blade out of his leg and was about to bandage it for him when Durel said. "No! you go to the Commander, and then to Kakariko. Go now!" he said. The soldier nodded and rushed off as Durel limped towards Zelda. "Your highness, we must get you out of the castle." he said. Zelda was terrified, but Impa nodded.  
"I'll take her, worry not. Come Princess." Impa said, standing up and reaching for Zelda's hand.  
"No, wait!" Zelda said, jumping from her chair and rushing out of the hall.  
"Princess!" Durell called after her, but she was by now out of ear shot with all the other noise going on around them. Zelda ran up the stairs to a secret room hidden behind a picture, a place she would go to be by herself. There she found a box in a hole under the carpet, which she removed from the hole and set on the floor. She reached into the front of her shirt and pulled out a key on a chain. Her hands were shaking, she was breathing heavily, and her hands fumbled to get the key into the hole of the box. When she finally did, it opened with a loud click, and a blue glow shone from within. She pulled out from the box, the Ocarina of Time, her own sacred treasure. Stuffing it into her pocket, she rushed out of the small room and shut the painting behind her.  
"Princess, what on earth?!" Impa said to her as she rounded the corner behind Zelda and found her just closing the painting.  
"I could not let him find it…" Zelda gasped. Impa now understood.  
"I see, you've got it then?" Impa said, getting her breath back. Zelda nodded. "Good, now we must fly. Come, and quickly!" She took Zelda's hand and they both rushed back down the stairs.

Link was as happy as could be. King Zora had thanked him and thanked him too many times to count, and the whole while Ruto blushed and stared at him with a smile from her seat very close to her father. He had given him a horse (Link wondered where they kept them) and Fedity had led him as far as the place where Zora's River entered Hyrule Field. There she thanked him also and asked him to say hi to Adiah for her. She left him to continue on back to Castle town, and riding the horse as fast as he dare, the journey took less than half the time it had taken him walking. He stopped before the path that led to Kakariko when he saw something that frightened him a little when he first saw it. Fenton, Linny, Sorell, and one other soldier were just exiting the gate from the village and were riding hard for Castle Town.  
"LINNY!" Link yelled. Linny saw him and stopped, turning his horse and riding towards him, the others kept going. Linny was quite out of breath when he reached him. "what's wrong, whats going on?" Link asked him.  
"Ganondorf, he killed the King, the King's dead. The Commander sent for us, we're on our way to the castle now." he explained. Link's high spirits were dropped lower than he imagined they could. He was stunned, he could hardly speak.  
"A-and Zelda?" Link asked.  
"I dunno 'bout her, I figure her caretaker's getting her out as fast as she can."Linny said. "Listen lad, there's going ta be a war. Now I know how brave ya are and I know ya could help, but the Commander said if any o' us found ya we were ta tell ya ta stay in the village." Link looked shocked and was about to argue. "Sorry lad but it's the Commanders orders, there's nothin' I can do 'bout it. Goodbye son." Linny said, turning his horse back around to follow the others. Link didn't move till he saw that they had entered the castles gates, then he shot for them himself. He wasn't going to leave Idien and Zelda when he had made them both promises to come back. If anything happened to either of them and he stayed in Kakariko, they would never see that promise fulfilled. This logic that kept him going wasn't exactly the best to make him disobey Idien, but it was the best he had. Besides, he just had to get the three stones to Zelda as she had asked.  
"Hey, Link!" a voice said behind him. Link stopped quickly and turned around on the horses saddle to see Terrian riding up to him. "Linny told you what Commander Idien said, didn't he?" Terrian said as he stopped along side Link. "My dad told me the same thing. But I don't care what he says, he's not leaving me behind this time. We'll show that desert guy, wont we?" Terrian grinned at him. He was armed with a sword as small as Links and a shield. His actually fit his back. Link grinned back at him.  
"Come on." Link said to him, and they both took off for the gates of Castle town.  
It was completely silent at the gates but for the continuous sound of rain drops splattering on and around them, they heard no battle or any people. They stopped just before the draw bridge and looked into the market, squinting through the grey haze that the rain created.  
"I don't see anyone… what's going on?" Link asked.  
"Wait, you see that? Rounding that corner way down there, see?" Terrian said, pointing past the fountain and beyond. Rounding the corner that led to the castle gates was a white horse, and on it, two people. They came straight for the two boys at all speed, showing not a slight hint of slowing down.  
"Look out!" Link yelled and kicked back his heels to make the horse move. Both horses neighed loudly and reared out of the white horse's way. Its hooves splashed through the muddy ground as it passed in front of them, flinging dirty water everywhere.  
"LINK!" gasped Zelda as her and Impa rode away from them.  
"Zelda..?!" Link said back, shocked to see that it was her on the speeding white horse. As he watched them ride away, something blue shot towards them. Zelda had thrown whatever it was as hard as she could, but Link still had to lean all the way out of his saddle to catch it.  
"HIDE IT!" Zelda yelled at him, her voice now getting quieter as she and Impa rode away through the rain. Link didn't give it a second thought and stuffed the Ocarina of Time into his shirt. Zelda was now out of sight, the rain making it impossible for either of them to see as far as they would if it had been sunny.  
A dark chuckle from behind them made them both quickly turn their heads back to the gate. There was Ganondorf on a black Gerudo Stallion, staring cruelly at them both. Both boys glared at him, doing their best to bury their terror of what stood before them.  
"We finally meet, young hero." Ganondorf said to Link, completely ignoring Terrian. "I must say, I expected more. You do not match the definition of a child warrior, I should say more of a toddler with a few toys." He laughed. Link did not give Ganon the satisfactoin of a response, he and Terrian only drew their swords. Ganon laughed again. "Ha, toys that I see are too much for you. You're stature already has disappointed me, do not shame yourself further." He grinned and took up his horses reighns. " I'll leave you two to your sword play, try not to cut yourselves." he laughed, and darted away in the direction Zelda and Impa had disappeared. At that moment Terrian shot past Link in pursuit of the man, his sword still drawn, going as fast as he could.  
"Terrian, no!" Link shouted after him, but it was no use. Both Terrian and Ganondorf had disappeared into the rain. It was then that he heard it, the battle he and Terrian had listened for. He turned to look into the Market and saw people running everywhere. Soldiers, women, children, and terrible beasts of unspeakable shapes. Suddenly his shirt began to shine blue, not like the Zora's Sapphire had, but a darker and softer blue. He reached out the Ocarina quickly, it was it that had been glowing, and still was. He looked it over and found something sticking out from its mouthpiece, a roll of paper. He yanked it out and unrolled it, it was the same kind and had the same markings on it as the letter Zelda had givin to him when he went to Death Mountain. Link had to hunch over the paper to guard it from the rain, the ink on the page already running slightly just from him holding it. Written on the paper were these words:

Link,  
When you read this, I wont be around anymore.  
I had to leave you the Ocarina of Time in hopes  
that you might fulfill the ancient prophesy and  
save Hyrule from the evil that has come. Take  
the Ocarina and the three sacred stones to the  
alter in the Temple of Time and play the tune  
written below with the Ocarina. You are Hyrule's  
only chance.

So this had been what the Deku Tree had told him about. This was his great destiny, to fulfill an ancient prophesy and save Hyrule form Ganondorf's clutches. A scream from the Market broke his thought and he quickly stuffed the letter and the Ocarina back into his shirt. He took up the horse's reighns and dashed across the bridge into the Market where a terrible fight was happening.  
There were many bodies on the ground, some of soldiers, some of beasts, and some of civilians. Link saw through the crowd, Linny, Fenton, Sorell, Adiah, and Idien all with swords drawn and shields fitted, fighting off the terrible beasts along with the rest of the castle soldiers and guards. Adiah caught his gaze and stood horrified to find him there. He pushed through the crowd, killing his enemies as he came, till at last he reached Link still on the horse.  
"What do you think you're doing here?! Get out of Castle Town now!" he yelled, taking a swing and a large skeletal wolf that had lunged at his face.  
"I have to get to the Temple of Time! And I'm going!" Link yelled back. Adiah nodded, he knew he couldn't stop him.  
"I'll get you there, come on!" He said, turning around. Suddenly there was a loud yell form the direction Adiah had come.  
"SORELL!" shouted Fenton. Link and Adiah looked up to see an iron-clad, dark armored knight standing in front of Sorell, its blade through his chest. The Knight drew it quickly and cruelly, walking off and leaving him to die before he had even fallen to the ground. There was nothing anyone could do, he was already gone. Link couldn't move after what he had just seen. Terrian's father had just been killed.  
"Link, come on!" Adiah yelled. Link looked down at him and nodded. He jumped down from atop the horse, there was no way of getting it through this battle. He didn't want Idien to see him, he might try and stop him, so Adiah led Link around the battle and up against the buildings. They passed in front of the open blacksmith shop and continued forward.  
"Link?…" came a voice inside the shop. Link stopped and looked, there on the stairs leading up to the loft stood Malon. "Where are you going?! Get in here!" She yelled, beckoning him up the stairs. Link shook his head.  
"I cant yet, I'm going to the Temple, tell Idien I'll be alright!" He yelled back. Before Malon could say another word to him, he and Adiah were already out of sight.  
The entire market place, up to the castle gates and even beyond, was completely full of beasts and soldiers. A battle who's noise reached up into the mountains and filled the air.  
Link and Adiah ran up the steps to the grove where the Temple stood, but they were not alone. A large group of beasts followed far enough behind that Link and Adiah didn't know they were there. They reached the front doors of the Temple, two enormous doors that were as tall as any one of the buildings in Castle Town.  
"Help me push!" Adiah said as he caught a good foot hold in the bricks and pushed hard against one of the doors. Link stood beside him and did the same. As they pushed and pushed, they noticed the doors slowly opening, inch by inch they could see inside. Link gasped and Adiah yelled as suddenly a skeleton wolf sprang onto Adiah's back.  
"ADIAH!" Link yelled, drawing his sword and striking down the beast which fell to the ground and tumbled down the stairs. Then they saw what had followed them. A group of about six more wolves and the same Knight that had killed Sorell. Adiah's back was torn and sliced, his shirt was ripped and blood ran down his sword sheath.  
"Go!" Adiah said to him, putting a hand on his chest and pushing him back.  
"I'm not leaving you alone, you can't take them all!" Link yelled.  
"I said GO!" Adiah yelled back, pushing Link through the door and pulling it closed just far enough so that Link couldn't fit through the opening.  
"NO!" Link yelled through the small crack left in the door. Adiah left his back vulnerable to shut the door, and the entire group closed in on him. But he wasn't down yet, he still fought though they kept coming. He managed to kill about four of the wolves within the first few seconds, all the while the evil Knight stood and waited for his turn at the soldier.  
Adiah was a gate guard, he hadn't been trained for serious combat, he had never even used any weapon other than a spear, but none the less he fought as hard as he could.  
Link pulled and pulled at the door to open it back up, only moving it centimeters with each pull. "Adiah!" He yelled again. The last wolf left growled at Adiah, many of his teeth missing and his red, unblinking, glowing eyes piercing Adiah's. Adiah was weak, his arm had been bitten and his whole body was covered in slices from the wolves' vicious claws. The wolf lunged, and Adiah swung his sword and cut it in half in mid air. It gave a gut-wrenching, terrible yelp and fell to the ground in front of him. Adiah stood holding his sword limp at his side as the knight slowly stepped up to him holding a much larger sword. Rain plinked onto his and the Knights armor, and dripped from Adiahs wet hair. Adiah had the first swing, which struck the knights arm as he held it up to block the attack. The sword bounced off his armor and sent Adiah stumbling backwards.  
Link held his breath, shaking and not knowing what to do. He couldn't possibly open the door any more, all he could do was watch.  
Adiah caught himself barely, resting his arm on his knee and breathing very heavy. The knight brought his sword down on him with extreme force, Adiah met it with his own and the two blades clanged together. The knight twisted the blades around in a circle, bringing them up and pulling Adiah's sword from his weak grip. Adiah fell to his knees, weaponless and exhausted. He slowly looked back at Link, whom he could barely see through the small opening of the door. Link couldn't say anything, he instead stood motionless as the knight struck a final blow that went straight through the soldier.  
The fight was over. Link gasped and his breath stopped. The knight looked up at him through the door, turned, and walked back towards the battle down in the square, leaving Adiah's body to lie in the rain. Link stepped away from the door, stunned with what he had seen. Tears were filling his eyes, making all around him nothing but blur.  
A bright light shining from inside his pockets caught his eyes and he blinked, making the tears run down his cheeks. He pulled out the stones, they were glowing brighter than they ever had. He turned around and saw where he had come. Inside the temple was huge and beautiful, there was a row of stained glass windows on either side of the chamber, and they sent vivid streams of colored light down onto the black and white checkered floor. A red carpet stretched across the floor all the way to a black stoned platform in the center of the wall. There were stairs going up behind the platform to a large square stone with a carved symbol of a rising sun on its front. Link wiped his face and walked up the carpet to the black platform. He examined it, it was made of black marble and had three carvings in it. He at once recognized the shapes of the carvings that were ment to hold the three sacred stones.  
They shone like colored fire in his hand, till suddenly they became just as hot as fire, too. He quickly dropped them, covering his eyes for fear they might break, but they never hit the ground. They were floating in the air, spinning in a large circle till they each floated down into their own carved spot. He covered his eyes again as the whole room was filled with a blinding white light and the jewels rang with a majestic tune.  
"The tune.." Link remembered, and pulled the Ocarina from his shirt, it also was glowing. He had Zelda's letter along with it, but he didn't know how to read music. "I don't even know what these symbols mean" He thought. At that moment, the ringing from the stones changed pitch into a lovely song that they played over and over again. "Is that it?" he asked himself, and tried to copy the song with the Ocarina. He put it to his mouth and played, he had never heard such beautiful sounds before. For some reason, he thought, playing it just seemed natural. He found the right notes without any trouble, and mimicked the tune played by the ringing stones. He immediately stopped when suddenly the building began to shake and the stone square behind the alter began to move. It wasn't a wall at all, it was one giant door! It opened slowly as the notes of the Ocarina continued to echo within the entire chamber along with the ringing of the stones.  
Soon everything stopped, and he saw what was behind the door. A second chamber with a rising platform in it's center and a bright beam of light flowing down onto it. On the top of the platform was a pedestal, and coming out from its top was a shimmering blade. It's handle was a deep violet blue, and its blade was made of a bright metal that shone like silver. It was stabbed into the pedestal with a carving of the Triforce etched into it.  
A loud scream from way down in the market echoed through the tiny opening in the door behind him. The terrible battle continued, and it was then that Link knew he just had to do this, he had to save the Kingdom from Ganondorf. Link ran up the stairs behind the alter and through the door. He was now in the swords' chamber, a tall, cylinder-like room with larger stained glass windows all around it. It's roof was of glass, which let the beam of light shine down on the sword. He stepped up the few stairs leading up to the sword, gazing in wonder at it when he reached it. He could still hear the noise of the battle going on down in the town, the ever ringing of the stones in the other chamber could not drown that out.  
He didn't know how getting this sword was going to help anyone, he wasn't the best swordsman ever, and the blade was nearly as long as he was tall. He didn't even know if he could pull it out of it's pedestal. Still, what choice did he have but to at least try. He grasped its handle with both hands, barely taking up a little over half of it. He stepped up on top of the stone pedestal to be have a little more height over the sword, and pulled as hard as he could. He could feel it sliding out of the stone as he pulled, it wasn't nearly as hard as he thought.  
"Link, no! don't!" shouted a voice behind him. Link stumbled backwards, looking back at the doorway to find who had followed him. He was almost speechless, and his breath was taken from his lungs at who stood at the entrance.  
"…Dink?" Link gasped as he saw who it was standing at the door he had just opened. "DINK?!" he shouted. Dink said nothing, he stood staring in fright at what Link had in his hands. Link looked down as well, for the sword he had tried to pull had come with him when he had stepped backwards away from it's pedestal. Dink began to run towards him, but suddenly stopped and fell backwards as if he had run into an invisible wall. Suddenly the whole chamber was filled with a blinding blue light that shot up from the center of the platform on which Link was standing. It roared like an enormous waterfall, and Link gazed up to where the beam had shot and saw the glass ceiling vanish and become a bright blue patch of sky.  
"NO!" Dink yelled as he stood up and banged his fists against the invisible wall that was a barrier to keep evil from entering the chamber. Link looked back at him worriedly, still holding the sword. Dink stopped and looked around him, a look of horror on his face. Link gasped as Dink suddenly disappeared into a wisp of shadow and in his place stood Ganondorf. The invisible barrier that had kept Dink from entering was burned away by a dark, purple flame as Ganondorf passed through it and into the chamber. He came closer, stepping slowly up the platform stairs until he was right in front of him. Link closed his eyes and looked away from him, a terrible smile spread across his face as he reached towards the boy.  
Then all was white, nothing but pure white light all around him. Ganondorf was gone, Dink was gone, the sound of the battle in the square was gone. His eyes were heavy, his body was weak, he felt sleep taking over. He fell to his knees onto nothing, dropping the sword at his side and falling back onto the ground. All was lost, he thought. Ganon had killed Zelda and Terrian, then he killed Dink, now he was next and then probably Idien, and Malon, and Talon, and all of Hyrule. It was all his fault, he failed to stop Ganondorf, he failed Princess Zelda, he had failed his destiny.

CHAPTER 10  
Seven Years Later

Time passes, people move. Like a rivers flow it never ends. The flow of time is always cruel, it's speed seems different for each person, but no one can change it. A thing that does not change with time is the memory of younger days…

Not a living thing had been seen here in seven years, not since that fateful day when hope was shattered and the faithful met their doom. Under the blackening shroud that had veiled the light since that time, Castle Town lay in ruins.  
Nothing much was left of any building. The crumbled fountain had long since ceased and bits of shields and weapons lay strewn about what was left of the cobble stoned streets where the sun used to shine. Only one window was left unbroken, the window of what had once been the loft of the Blacksmith Shop. Though its roof had collapsed and its walls burned by Gerudo Thieves who had stolen all its merchandise, it had not lost it's memories.  
Idien risked death by venturing into this forbidden area, but that thought had not even crossed his mind. For him, this place still belonged to the rightful Queen and heir to the throne of Hyrule, Princess Zelda, wherever she was. For she, along with many others that included Link, his Godson, had been lost that day. None had seen them since. The only connection he had to any of them was Malon and Impa, whom he knew was the last person to see the Princess. She claimed the Princess had been lost to Ganondorf, but Idien found it hard to believe that.  
He stood gazing up towards the Temple on the outskirts of the square, still, along with all of Hyrule, wondering what had happened during the battle. He remembered back to the very moment it had happened, when all had ceased and sound itself vanished for what had seemed like an eternity. He remembered seeing his friend Adiah for the last time, running away from him towards the gates of the field and not having the time to see what he was running to. He didn't see him alive again after that, but he wondered why he had been up near the steps to that Temple, and what he had been doing before he had fallen.  
Finding his friend dead had seemed like days after he had seen him running away through the crowd, for it was during the time between when something unbelievable and just as unexplainable had happened. He had seen Link running towards the Temple and up the stairs alone, but it wasn't the same Link he had sent off to Kakariko. He was as a dark shadow, his hair as white as a cloud and his eyes as red as blood. He moved through the battle like a mist and disappeared just minutes before all had stopped.  
It was like slow motion, suddenly the storm clouds above the Temple were broken as a single ray of sunlight shot down on its roof, and then it happened. Another ray of light appeared, this one from the Temple itself. A brilliant blue light that rose to meet the stream of yellow from above. It shot into the hole in the clouds and above them, never making a sound, and causing all things that did make sound to become mute.  
He and his fellow soldiers had continued to fend off the nightmarish creatures that had invaded after their King was killed. Sword upon shield and spear upon teeth they fought, but not a whisper was heard. And then it was gone, and it took with it their hope.  
It was only he along with about four other soldiers that had survived that battle and the darkness in the years that came after it, although many civilians had survived by taking to hiding. He had watched nearly all of his friends die at the hands of Ganondorf and his evil, and nothing gave him any clue that could say that Link had not also been killed that day. Not a trace was found of him, he had simply vanished.  
Malon was the last person alive that had seen him right before time had slowed for those few minutes. She, traumatized by the battle and the terrible things she had witnessed, could not remember what he had said to her. Idien never told her nor Talon about the boy who looked like Link that had run right past him, he imagined that he had just been seeing things. But had he told them, he would have found that he had not imagined him, and they both knew exactly who that boy really was.

"Awaken… awaken O chosen hero." came a luminous voice that hovered all around. "Your time has come, awaken…"  
He opened his eyes slowly, the light all around him so brilliantly shining throughout. He sat up from his lying position and rubbed his eyes.  
"Did I fall asl-" Link began to speak, but noticed that it was not his own voice that had spoken. There was another person here with him, a much older sounding boy, saying what he was thinking, or so he thought. "Who's…there..?…!" he quickly slapped his hand to his mouth, for it had been him that had spoken. He jumped up from the ground, gasping and looking around at himself in disbelief. The floor was farther down from his eyes than he remembered it had been. Or, was it his eyes that were much farther up than he remembered? He was taller, he was wearing a bigger tunic and boots, and he had even been equipped with gauntlets!  
But how? He asked himself, how was this even possible? And where had these new things come from? He tried to calm down and catch his breath. His heart felt heavier, a feeling of valor and responsibility filling in the places that at one time, a farther time than it really seemed, had been filled with childish ambition.  
He had now almost gotten over the shock, still wondering how in the world this had happened. He was most pleased to find that his fathers shield now fit his back perfectly.  
Paying absolutely no mind to where in the world he was, he smiled and turned around a few times to take a closer look at his new wares, then he stopped. "….where's the sword…?" he asked himself, remembering the blade he had dropped when he had fallen asleep. He looked around him, it was nowhere to be seen.  
"The Master Sword is where it belongs." Came the same voice he had originally thought he had dreamed up. He turned around and saw a person that had not been there a second ago. "In your grasp." the person finished. And there it was, where it also had not been a second ago, in his hand. He flinched a bit when he saw it there, but then looked back up to the man who had appeared. He was not very tall, and reminded him of Talon. A fairly large man with white hair and a mustache that stretched all the way across his face. He wore a long, orange robe decorated with gold, and the same emblem repeated all over it. "And there the sword shall stay until all has been made right." the man continued, then he bowed. "I am Rauru, the Sage of Light and keeper of the Sacred Realm…" He began again. Link also bowed and began to introduce himself when Rauru spoke before him. "I already know your name as I have know it since the prophesy was foretold. You are Link, the Hero of Time and the wielder of the Master Sword." He said with a smile. "I am sure at this time you have many questions, and all shall be answered. You have wondered how it is that you seem so much older when, as you see it, you seem to only have been asleep for an hour or two. I shall tell you the truth.  
Seven years have passed since you drew that sword, and evil has been allowed to endure since then." the man explained, Link was shocked and horrified. "Do not look so afraid, this was not your fault. These events, along with certain things that have happened during your life, were not a part of the prophesy foretold by the later Kings and prophets in the last three centuries. This is why you and so many others had thought that the prophesy had failed and all hope had been in vain. The true prophesy had been long since forgotten when the original Hylian Kingdom had been torn apart by war, mixed up and rearranged so that everything seemed so easy. The people of the land did not want a prophesy that stated they would have to endure seven long years of suffering before the Hero came, even if it were the true way, they would rather believe that he would aid them at once before so much had succumbed to evil." Rauru looked forelorn as he explained. "The prophesy has not failed, it has only begun to unfold." he finished.  
"Seven years…"Link repeated quietly. "All the people I left behind, all my friends. Are they all still alive? What about Zelda, and Terrian, are they alive?" he asked anxiously. Rauors lifted his hand with a smile.  
"By still young master, yes, most of them are alive. Some, however, have passed on as a result of the battle that followed Ganondorf's take over and his tyrannical rule afterwards. As for Zelda, I cannot say. Either she is in hiding, in which case she has used a spell to almost totally erase herself from the foresights of all, or she was also lost during that time. I do not know." Link didn't like this answer, he was afraid of what he would find when he returned to Hyrule.  
"Link…" Rauru began. Link looked back up at him. "You must listen well to what I am about to tell you. When you pulled that sword from its pedestal in the Temple of Time, you opened a portal that had been sealed for over six hundred years. A portal that led to this Sacred Realm inside the dwellings of the Temple of Light, allowing access to anyone or anything that saw fit to pass through it after you had…" Link now knew what he was talking about, and remembered the very last person he had seen before all had left him. "That is correct." Rauru nodded very seriously, as if he had heard exactly what Link had been thinking. "Ganondorf entered this Sacred Realm seven years ago, something no sage or god would have imagined could ever happen. He destroyed five of us Six Sages, I am all that is left. I slipped away, cowardly as that might have been, but I had to keep you safe. I took you away as the last of the other sages were finished off and Ganondorf obtained what we had fought so very hard to protect…the sacred Triforce." Rauru paused with a look of dispair. "It gave him power beyond all else but the gods, but even they will soon be outmatched if Ganondorf succeeds what he is now attempting." Rauru furrowed his brow and looked sternly at Link.  
"And what is that?" Link aksed him.  
"Legend states that if one with a noble heart content with three virtues, Power, Wisdom, and Courage, would but touch the Triforce, then Hyrule would blossom into a golden age of peace and prosperity. But, if one with an unbalanced heart was somehow to sieze it, all would dispair and the Triforce would split into three pieces, taking root in three chosen ones who would bear the mark of the Triforce on the back of their left hands." Rauru held up his hand towards Links, and Link felt his arm lift by itself. The back of his hand was glowing in the shape of the Triforce even through his gauntlet. "You bear the Triforce of Courage, in your veins flows the valor of the gods." Link gasped, he was one of the chosen ones. Rauru nodded at him and let his hand drop gently.  
"Ganondorf's heart was obviously out of balance, and this legend was something he had not heard of. But now he as figured it out and searches day and night for the other two chosen ones." Rauru looked troubled and continued to stare at him. Link had to look away, his gaze seemed almost accusing and he couldn't bear to look into his eyes. "However…" Rauru began again. "something has taken place within the past eight years that has caused that legend to change, something that was unforeseen by any prophet of the ancient times, and Ganondorf still has no knowledge of it. The fact that his accidental creation of this dark being has caused the Triforce of Courage to split in two, has not yet entered even into his darkest dreams." Link shot his glance back towards the Sage.  
"…Dink?" he asked. Rauru nodded.  
"Yes, your evil duplicate holds part of you, just as you hold most of him. When you were placed with the Triforce of Courage, the unspeakable happened, and the power split. For Ganondorf to obtain the entire Triforce, he will need both you and your dark other. But for now Ganon has no knowledge of him, you must attempt to keep it that way. " Link nodded in agreement. Even knowing the fact that Ganondorf would become stronger if he found Dink, he would never have wanted Ganon to know of Dink anyways. The less he knew of his friends, the better it would be for them.  
Rauru still looked quite troubled, as if there was something pressing onto his thoughts that was trying very hard to come out, but the right words were difficult to find. "But Link, be forewarned there is another part of your friend's existence that even the great Deku Tree could not have known." Rauru told him.  
"What? What do you mean?" Link asked him.  
"I can tell you no more, but for now, know this. No single person can ever be completely evil. They can be half as Dink is, or almost whole, as Ganondorf is, but never completely whole, for even the darkest of humans hold a hint of a conscience in their hearts. This is a rule of the universe that can be altered only on certain conditions. Situations of coincidence that may or may not even come to pass, and all worlds pray they never do. You must beware, for these things could yet happen." Rauru told him.  
"What things are you talking about? What does this have to do with Dink?" Link asked. Rauru payed no mind to his questions and held his hands into the air as all their surroundings lit up.  
"You must go now, Link. Back to Hyrule, your place is there, the people need you. Goodbye." He said. Link suddenly began to levitate above the shimmering blue platform on which he once stood. He reached out to the Sage as he rose away.  
"Rauru! What about Dink?!" he yelled, but they were now too far apart to hear one another.  
The light faded around him, all became darkness and he felt nothing around him. Rauru was gone and he heard no sounds, nothing but the fast beating of his heart and his quick breath. Suddenly he felt his feet land on hard, flat ground, and slowly things around him began to take shape once more.  
"Rauru?…" he whispered, but no one answered. In fact, he wasn't even in the same place anymore. Before his eyes, the walls and colors of the bright stained-glass windows above him still emerging from the dissolving shadow began to click in his memory. He recognized this place he had been sent to, he had been here before, if only in a dream. A small stone form took shape on the floor in front of him, and suddenly he knew.  
"the Temple of Time, I'm in the Temple of Time." he said to himself as he recognized the pedestal of the Master Sword and the perfectly carved emblem of the Triforce etched on its face. He looked back up and around him, the chamber hadn't changed at all but for the fact that the windows shone a lot less and the skylight above was dark. "it must be night" Link thought. He turned around and looked behind him to the door way that led into the alter chamber. The stone squared passage was dark, and an ebbing sadness crept over him as he looked down at the cold hard floor where he had last seen Dink standing seven years ago, warning him not to pull the sword. "But how could he have known?" Link asked himself as he thought.  
Rauru' last words to him hung in his mind like a fog. In his parting words, the wise Sage had warned him, but against what? Dink? Ganondorf?…himself? He hadn't figured out why he couldn't have just told him. He sighed and tried not to pay to much mind to it, he still had to keep his head on straight and prepare himself for what lay just outside the Temple.  
Although at first, it had not seemed like seven years had passed to him, but now he began to feel like one does when you come to a place you once loved but hadn't been to in many years and find it ruinded, desolate, and abandoned. He also began to feel his age. He no longer felt like the ten year old boy who had once stood in this exact spot, trembling with fear of the man who had stood before him. He now felt like the warrior who would be the one to defeat that man.  
He stepped down away from the pedestal and towards the passage.  
"I have been waiting for you, Hero of Time." came a voice that made Link quickly draw his blade and shield and turn to where the voice had come from. He saw no one directly, but he caught a strange abnormality in the shadowed wall behind the pedestals platform. Link slowly stepped forward to see if he could place the shape, keeping his blade fast at his side and his shield at the ready.  
"Who's there?" he asked sternly. Suddenly the shape began to move towards him and out of the shadows, slowly becoming visible as it moved towards a ray of light in between them. The person emerged into the light, and Link's stance eased as he saw that it was only a boy his age, maybe younger. He lowered his weapon, but he did not put it away. He still had no idea who or what this person was.  
The boy stopped in the center of the lit platform beside the Master Swords pedestal.  
"My name is Shiek, I am one of the last of the ancient people descended down from the founders of Kakariko, the Shiekiah. You may have known one of them, her name was Impa, the caretaker for Princess Zelda." the boy said. Link dropped his guard a little more as he found that this person had connections to Zelda and Impa.  
"Zelda? Do you know her? Where is she, is she alive?" Link asked. The boy was quiet for a moment, in deep thought, he seemed almost sad. Then he nodded.  
"I have met her, and I do believe she is still alive." Shiek finally said. Link sighed, neither this answer nor the answer he got from Rauru was definite. They were both silent for a moment. "The prophesy has come to pass." Shiek began again, almost seeming to purposely turn away from the subject. "As I see you standing there, holding the mythical Master Sword, you really do look like the Hero of Time." He said. Link looked down at the sword again, its blade shimmering even in the dim light of the chamber. " The blade is power, created by the six sages before the first King of Hyrule took his place on the throne. It is the destroyer of evil, those who are vile and dark-spirited are unable to even touch it, for their life will be drained from them." Shiek explained very seriously, Link cringed slightly at the thought, and vowed to try and never think bad thoughts about anything while he wielded the sword.  
Shiek continued. "The fact that you were able to pull the sword from this pedestal proves that you are the chosen one with the power to fight along side the Sages. For even the strongest man could not have done so were he not blessed with such a spirit, and you did so when you were yet a child." Shiek explained to him. Link felt a slight sense of pride now that he knew this, at first he had thought the blade wasn't fitted in the stone tight enough, but now he knew the truth.  
"But your task now has only just begun…" Shiek continued, Links spirits fell slightly. "Five of the six sages have been lost, and now five others have been chosen to take their place. Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow, and Spirit, all must be awakened. Three of these new sages have already heard their call, and your job now is to awaken those two who have not. Most of these new sages I'm sure you know, the names of the ones already awakened are these. Nabooru: Sage of Spirit, Darunia: Sage of Fire, and Saria: Sage of Forest." Shiek finished. Link shot a shocked glance at him as he heard the name of the last Sage.  
"Saria…?" he repeated.  
"Yes, a girl I'm sure you know. Her life in this world was a true and courageous one, she was chosen for her spirit of life and wisdom. Though she had cared for you in your youth and watched over you like a mother, she will now aid you in your true destiny as the Sage of the Forest. You have not lost her." Shiek said. Shieks attempt to comfort him only slightly lessened Links emotions, and he hung his head as he remembered his home back in the Kokiri Forest. It seemed like forever since he had left Saria standing on the bridge that entered the meadow where the village stood, and he wondered if Ganondorfs demonic army hadn't already destroyed the peaceful place he had called home for most of his life. Shiek allowed him a few moments for his thoughts, but time was of the esscence, and there were duties that needed to be done.  
"Link.." Sheik spoke to him, he broke his chain of thoughts and looked back towards the boy. "You must go. Only you can save this land, and now is the time to do so." He said. Link stood up straighter, furrowed his brow, and let out his breath. He knew he couldn't outrun his destiny, and why try. He was going to embrace it. He was the chosen hero, the one who could defeat Ganondorf, the only one to save his homeland.  
"But where do I start.." Link wondered.  
"You must first go to a place far from here, a place you have been but do not remember. You must go to Lake Hylia, the place of your birth." Sheik stated. A sudden excitement and shock filled Links heart at Sheiks words. He had never been told where he had been born, and Sheik was right, he didn't remember it at all. Sheik continued. "A temple lies deep within the lake bed, you must go there to find the key that will lead you to the Sage of Water." he finished. Link nodded, this was all the instruction he needed and he was set to get there as soon as he could. At this time, he would have loved more than anything to go and find his lost friends, to find out which ones had survived the seven years he had been gone. But now was not the time, he needed to continue his journey. A thing that helped him in this was that even though he may not know where they all were, at least he could fullfill his destiny and help them by making their land safer.  
Sheik nodded at him. "May the winds of fortune always be at your back." he said. Link turned away from him and began walking towards the door to the Temple. He passed the alter on which the Sacred Stones still rang beautifully, shimmering in the dim light of the Temple. The door to the outside was open wider than it had been, a cold breeze being allowed to blow through the opening. He breathed in the air deeply, hoping it would be fresh and sweet as it had been before, but was disgusted shockingly. The air was bitter and smelt of smoke and decay. He coughed as he looked out the door. It was dark outside, but Link could tell now that it wasn't night as he had thought before.  
Down the steps of the Temple he stood where Adiah had met his death at the hands of Ganondorfs evil knight. Although he felt terrible dispair as he remembered watching the soldiers defeat, he sighed in slight reliefe to find that not a trace had been left to say that anyone had been killed here. Adiahs weapon was not even there. And so he left the Temple grove and entered the market, a place he wished to leave immediately as soon as he saw what it now looked like. The sight of this once so cheerfull and lively place having almost nothing left of it drained the hope from Links heart like a knife letting blood. It seemed to give off its own aura of despair, the demolished buildings crying out in pain and sorrow-filled anger at him. It became even more overwhelming when he saw what had been left of the Blacksmith shop as he walked through the square. He stared at the building with sadness. And although he did, for some reason, want to enter it, his feet just would not take him there.  
A sudden gust of cold wind blasted behind him, causing a few loose pieces of wood to come crashing down onto the ground from what was left of a wooden staircase. He jumped around, the sudden noise making him very much on edge. But what took his gaze was not the buildings nor anything else old and destroyed within his view. It was something that was new, and not destroyed at all. A dark, tall tower stood quite aways passed the market. It was an evil looking place, made entirely from a black material. Link was a bit confused, for this tower stood where the Castle had once been as one would see from the market. It didn't take long for this realization to hit him. Ganondorf had completely destroyed the magnificent Hyrule Castle and had built his own in its place.  
Rage boiled within Links mind as he glared at the tower. He had a mind to run up there as fast as he could and rid the world of Ganondorf right there on the spot. But he knew he hadn't a fighting chance without all six Sages with him. He couldn't bear to look at the place anymore, and turned quickly away from it before he decided to go through with his thoughts. He left the Market, passing by the dead trees and broken fountain towards the gates of the town, pausing for only a moment to take one last look at the Blacksmith shop. The wooden sign with the sword carved on it was missing from the place it had once been, but he still remembered even its tiniest details. He would never forget that sign.

Ganondorf sat musing in his chambers, sliently meditating in the darkness of his tower. He had been searching for seven years, ever since he had obtained the power he now possessed, for the other two who had been placed as bearers of the rest of the power that he so desperately desired. He knew that the princess Zelda was one of those bearers, but the other, he hadn't a clue. He breathed deeply, letting out his breath in the form of a growl as he became slightly frustrated. He was not even going to bother with the piece unknown to him until he had found Zelda, but even now, she evaded his grasp and his sight.  
He could see things now through fore-sight, a gift that came with the Triforce of Power he now bore. But ever since he had obtained the power, he still could not see the Princess or the unknown bearer in his thoughts. He also could not see that one of his plans had failed, that Link and the Master Sword had not been permanently trapped inside the Sacred Realm as he had hoped.  
A loud, frantic knocking sounded throughout the large chamber, echoing loudly. Ganondorfs gaze shot startled toward the door, his heart skipping a beat with surprise. This angered him profusely and he yelled at the knocker.  
"What?!" he screamed, the door burst open, and a knight entered. His face was completely blocked from view by a large iron helmet, and his entire body was covered in armor.  
"M-My liege! The boy!…" he gasped.  
"What boy?!" Ganondorf demanded.  
"The boy you left for dead in the Sacred Realm! He's out! And he is FAR from dead!" the knight finished franticaly. Ganondorf launched from his chair and his eyes became wide with fury.  
"WHAT?! That is NOT possible!" he yelled.  
"I assure you, it's true! He was spotted exiting the Temple alone about twenty minutes ago! He had the sword!" the knight almost sqealed the last word in horror. Ganondorf was silent for a moment, and they both stood motionless for about five seconds as Ganondorf thought deeply.  
"Leave me…" Ganondorf finally said, calming down only slightly, his voice still shook with rage.  
"S-sir…" the knight hung his head and backed quickly out of the doorway, shutting the door behind him as he left the room.  
"So you have emerged from legend, O' Hero of Time, and I do believe you are the missing piece of the puzzle. Perhaps it may have suited me well that I did not kill you, though many times I had the chance." A smile crept across his face as he turned to exit his chamber.

It had been the better part of the day that Link had walked the long and winding paths that led through Hyrule Field. It was getting late and his long shadow stretched across the grassy hills in front of him as the sun began to set to his back. To his great regret, he had not asked Sheik the directions to Lake Hylia, and didn't quite know why he hadn't told him. He had come to many a fork in the road while he walked, most paths trailed off and were lost in the grass, but some became well traveled wagon roads. Luckily, there were usually signs that pointed him in the right direction saying which roads went where. So far, he hadn't really gone off course from going straight east from the draw bridge of Castle Town (which he had to jump across since it had been broken in half) so even on forks that had no sign, he just continued east.  
He stopped in the center of a large dirt patch where the road split into three different paths. One continued east, one went south, and the other went southeast towards what Link could tell was desert. An old, slightly broken sign stuck in the ground in front of him, he had to brush off some dust to read it, but some parts were still missing. The one pointing east read: L-KE HY-A. He could tell pretty easily it was Lake Hylia. The one pointing southeast was the easiest one to read since it was the most intact. It read: GERUDO VA-LEY. Link was absolutely certain that he did NOT want to go southeast. But it was the one pointing south that interested him the most, especially since it was getting so late and he needed a place to sleep. This thought almost made him laugh. He wouldn't think that he could be even remotely tired after sleeping for seven years. The sign pointing south read: LO- -ON -ANCH, by far the hardest to read out of all three since it looked like someone had purposely scratched it out, but it was easy enough for Link to figure out what the missing letters were. The path that led south was the path to Lon Lon Ranch, and he could barely see the top of the dirt walls around it over the hills. He turned around to see how far he had come, he could just make out the blackness that hovered over Castle Town. He sighed. Even in its demolished state, he found himself missing the town more and more.

CHAPTER 11  
The Unspeakable Ensues

During the hours of the day in the abandoned Market of Hyrule, the sun had little power. Even its bright, warm rays could not penetrated the shroud of darkness that hung over the town and its surrounding areas. But night, on the other hand, had a great effect. The clouds of dust, ash, and smoke already made day seem like night in this place, but during the time when night actually fell, it was like a place where you would see darkness literally choking out anything bright.  
The alleys were darker yet, although you would think it impossible, and it was for this reason that Ganondorf chose to remain there. He sat leaned against a wall, covered in an old, tattered blanket, just waiting. He had been sitting here for hours ever since he learned that Link had left the Temple, but he had seen no signs of the boy. His dark yellow eyes glared underneath the blanket over his head as he watched the square endlessly. He was thinking on leaving back to his tower to kill the knight who had told him that Link had come back, it was then that he saw something moving in the darkness outside the alley. It was easy enough for Ganondorf to tell that it was a person, he could barely see his face. He grinned under the blanket as the person came closer and he saw just what he looked like. At first, Ganondorf had thought that Link might have left the Market, and he was right, but now he had come back for whatever reason. He walked cautiously through the square and towards the Temple, taking many glances around him.  
Ganondorf cackled, doing his best to cover up his own voice and make himself sound like an old man. He smirked as he saw Link stop and turn towards him.  
"Who's there?" he asked. Ganondorf groaned as if he was in pain as Link walked up to him warily.  
"Oooh, its all gone.. All of it, turned to ash and blown away.." Ganondorfs old man voice spoke. Link came closer, stepping over bits of debris as he walked towards the man. " All of it, it was all  
Ganondorfs doing. I was there, I remember." Said the mans voice, a bit louder. Link slowly walked into the alley and over to him.  
"Are you alright, man?" he asked. Ganondorf ignored his question. "The little boy with the forest clothes, it was his fault! He let Ganondorf into the Sacred Realm!" the old man paused. "Didn't you?" Ganondorf looked up at Link with a cruel grin and suddenly sprung from his sitting position. Link quickly drew his sword but Ganondorf kicked it out if his hand swiftly. He tried to run from the alley, dashing from Ganondorf as fast as he could. Ganon stuck out his booted foot and tripped him, laughing as he crashed to the ground. He slowly walked over and stood in front of Link lying on the ground, he chuckled darkly as Link began to stand back up.  
"I'm amazed you came back, I thought you had taken one look at this place and left. But it seemes you are truly ignorant of the power darkness possesses." Ganondorf laughed. "But I guess I owe you thanks, after all, its because of you that I was able to turn this place into a pile of wood and broken stone." Link looked up at him, and Ganon saw his face a little clearer. He thought he saw something, but shook it off as a trick of the light (or darkness, as it was).  
"Yeah, I know you…" Link began. "You're that freak they call Ganondorf." he said. Ganons eye twitched with a sudden anger that began to make his blood boil as Link stood up and casually brushed himself off. " And I think you may be as stupid as you are ugly, because I have no idea what you're talking about!" Link said. Ganondorf gritted his teeth in fury and he dove at the boy, clenching his neck in his fist and slaming him against the wall behind him.  
"How DARE you speak to me with such disrespect! I am your KING! I don't care what the prophesy says, you are no hero! You are nothing but a little brat with a power that belongs to ME!…"Ganondorf stopped talking immediately as his gaze came closer to the boys face. His blood suddenly ran cold, this was not Link. His eyes were blood red and his hair pure white. Dink saw the look on Ganons face and smiled connivingly. "…Who are you?!" Ganondorf asked in a stunned tone.  
At that moment a pain began to surge throughout his hand. It burned and crawled up his arm like fire. He tried to take his hand from the boys neck but he couldn't let go. Dinks smile vanished, he too felt the pain. He winced, clenching his fists and closing his eyes tightly.  
"What is this?! I command you to stop!" Ganondorf yelled.  
"You! Let me go, you freak!" Dink gasped, the pain was becoming greater. A bright light shone from two different places, one from Ganondorfs hand, and the other from Dinks. He looked down, his Triforce shone uncontrollably. But what shocked him was that the same symbol shone on the boys hand, he had the last piece, but how? Ganondorf grasped his burning arm with his free hand, the pain causing them both to shake. Suddenly Dinks whole body jerked and he shot his gaze towards the sky. Ganondorf was becoming angry and frantic as he continued to try and free his arm from the boys neck, he wanted no part in what was taking place. He didn't know what was happening, and his hand continued to burn.  
A black shadow began to stretch from Dinks neck where Ganondorf held him, it spread all around him. Ganondorfs eyes became wide with horror. At that moment, Dink let out a terrible scream of pain and closed his eyes, the shadow had now covered almost his entire body, Ganondorf could just barely see him in his grasp.  
And then he stopped, and all was silent. Ganondorf could no longer see him or even feel him in his grasp. His Triforce symbol had ceased to shine, and he couldn't see the boys either, he just wasn't there. His hand was free now, but it was blistered and burnt from where he had touched the boys neck. He looked down to the ground where Dinks sword still lay, he picked it up and looked at it. A sudden feeling of panic drenched him as he saw what the blade looked like. It was the Master Sword, which he flung to the ground in horror. There it lay on the stone ground, but he felt nothing as he should have. The sword had not hurt him. How could this be, he thought. He picked it up again carefully by its hilt and looked at it closely. In its first impression, this looked exactly like the Master Sword, but in fact it was not, as Ganondorf now realized. It was not a vivid and glowing blue, nor did the blade shine with an unnatural white glow. It was a pure and sleek black, even the blade itself. Ganondorf was amazed as he continued to stare at every detail of the sword.  
Then suddenly the blade simply vanished from within his grasp in a swirl of black fog. No one had taken it, no one had touched it as he saw, it was just gone. He was motionless for a moment as shock and amazement was replaced with anger. He was now determined to find out who, why, and where that boy was.

Half an hour, maybe more, had passed since Link found himself facing towards Lon Lon Ranch, and he could now touch the smooth dirt walls that encircled it. It looked basically the same as it had when Malon had first brought him and Dink here so long ago., although one thing had changed. The sign above the entrance to the ranch read 'Ingo's Ranch', not 'Lon Lon Ranch'. Links hopes of finding a familiar face here fell quite low, but he figured he may still find a place to stay for the night.  
He walked up the dirt ramp and through the short passageway that led into the ranch. As he drew nearer to the open corral and the buildings beside it, he heard a soft sound. Over the night sound of crickets in the grass all around him, he could tell it was a womans voice singing beautifully. The sun had now completely set, and it began to get darker and darker. He could barely see someone standing in the middle of the large, rought-iron corral. He stopped near a window to the house where Talon and Malon once lived, he didn't see either of them, but a fire burnt cozily in the fireplace and an empty plate and cup sat on the table. He continued on to the corral where the woman stood, her voice still carrying smoothly in the cool air. Many horses lay about in the fenced-in area, one of them, a large, reddish brown horse with white hair, the girl stood next to. Her back was facing him as she continued to sing, Link found it very soothing. He stopped behind her, not wanting to talk, but to keep listening.  
"Excuse me?.." he said quietly. She and about eight other horses around her jumped up in fright even though he tried not to seem to sudden. He flinched as she turned towards him quickly, her eyes wide with surprise. The horse beside her continued to whinnie, not in irritation or shock, but happily.  
"Wh-… Link?…" the girl asked as she took a step towards him and Link could see her face better.  
"Malon?" Link wasn't really asking, he now recognized her quite easily. Malon jumped up again, this time with excitement, and literally flung herself onto him with a hug. He almost fell backwards as she squeezed him and laughed.  
"Link! It IS you!" she giggled loudly. "Its been so long! Where have you been?! I cant believe you're really here, I'm so happy!" she said.  
"It's a long story. Ha, I can't believe you're still here! I though you had left with your dad!" Link said. Malon let him go and stood in front of him.  
"Yeah, I'm still here. But my dad isn't, not after what Mr. Ingo did." Malon didn't seem so happy anymore.  
"Mr. Ingo? So he's the one who changed the name of the Ranch, but why?" Link asked her. She sighed, at that moment the horse she had been standing next to came over to them and began nibbling on Links hair happily. Malon giggled as Link tried to get the horse to stop.  
"Well, I can't believe she still remembers you." She said with a smile. "Epona's gotten so much bigger, hasn't she?"  
"Epona? Wow! She really has! This is Epona?!" Link smiled as Epona now nuzzled her face against his. Malon nodded.  
"She's big enough for you to ride her now, if you still want her."  
"Of course!" Link said. Malon lost her smile again as she looked worriedly towards the house. "What?" Link asked her.  
"Come on, lets go into the stables." She told him as she began to walk towards the gate of the corral. Link followed, and Epona followed Link.  
The stables were almost empty, there was only one horse and three cows in their own stalls. Tyron's stall was empty, as Link saw when he looked towards where his mothers horse once had been.  
"He died.." Malon said as she saw Link looking at the stall. He looked back towards her. "Three years ago, asleep in his stall. Epona was heartbroken, this is the happiest I've seen her since." Malon explained. Link was saddned at this news, and stroked Epona's neck gently. "We buried him in the far east corner of the Ranch, I put a carrot on his grave almost every day, when I think Mr. Ingo wont notice. Malon said as she sat on a crate beside an empty stall. Link sat on a bag of Cuccoo food and leaned against the wall as Epona lay down beside him.  
"What's with this Ingo guy, wasn't he your dads Ranch hand?" Link asked. Malon nodded.  
"He was, until Ganondorf killed the King and took over the land." Malon began. " I didn't think he would care about a tiny little ranch in the middle of a vast field, but once he had control, Mr. Ingo went to him and asked if he would give the Ranch to him. He agreed, and Mr. Ingo completely changed. He became greedy and selfish, he sold or killed all the horses that he thought were 'inferior' or 'not up to standards'. Tyron and Epona were the two he favored the most, just because of their breed and rarity in their color. He was… well, still is… planning to give Epona to Ganondorf as a gift for giving him this ranch. I wont have that, I would rather see her run away from Hyrule forever than in Ganondorfs stables. I'm glad you still want her, now she can leave here with someone she loves and not have to be sent away to a place where I know she would be treated cruelly." Malons tone seemed to be gaining hints of anger as she spoke. " Mr. Ingo ordered that my dad leave and never return, but he kept me as a ranch hand. I do all the work while he sits in my house and wallows in money." a tear ran down her face. "…I miss him… If he were here he could stop him… you haven't seen him, have you?" she asked.  
"No, I haven't. Where did Ingo send him?" Malon shook her head.  
"No, not my father. I see him regularly, he lives in Kakariko now." she told him. "I meant Dink… do you know where he is?" Link was silent, he wished he had better news for her. He shook his head.  
"I haven't seen him in seven years…" Malon hung her head, wiping her face with the back of her hand as she sniffled. Epona lifted her head and looked towards the girl.  
"I guess he's never coming back." she said lowly, then laughed a little, her voice was shaky. "You know, I know it may seem silly, but even though we were only children when we met, we only knew each other for a day, and I havent seen his face or heard his voice in seven years… I still love him… I still wish he were here with me." she smiled longingly. " Even if he is.. Different…" she finished with an odd expression of mystery on her face.  
"I saw him during the battle in the market.." Link told her. She looked up at him quickly, a look of anticipation in her eyes.  
"I don't even remember what you said to me then, but I remember seeing you with the soldier… where were you?" she asked.  
"I was in the…" Link was cut off by the sudden sound of a door opening quickly outside. Both he and Malon shot their gazes towards where the noise had come from.  
"MALON?! WHERE ARE YOU, GIRL?!" came a mans voice. "GET IN HERE AND CLEAN UP NOW!" he yelled, and slammed the door. Malon frowned and glared towards the place his voice had come from, then she looked at Link, Epona still lying beside him.  
"I have to go. Every time I disobey or do something wrong, he punishes the animals for it. He wont touch me though, he still has at least some respect for me." Malon stood up and began walking towards the door, Link also stood up as she passed him. " If you need a place to stay for the night, you can sleep in here. I'm sorry I cant offer you a room in the house, but Mr. Ingo wouldn't stand for it. He wont notice you in here, he rarely comes in here anymore. He says the manure-covered dirt of a barn is not worthy enough for his feet to fall on." Malon rolled her eyes. "Um, it would be best if you left as soon as dawn comes, there are crates here full of fruit and vegetables, feel free to take as many as you like…" she paused, and ran towards him to give him another hug. "I'm so happy you're alive, Link. I wish you could stay here for longer so we could talk some more, I hope to see you again." she smiled at him as she turned to leave the stables. "And don't forget, Epona loves carrots, and if you get a chance, she also loves that melody I was singing when you found me. If you remember it, play it for her someday. Her saddle and gear is in the trunk beside Tryon's stall. Goodbye Link, goodbye Epona." she smiled and shut the door as she left.

The next morning, Link awoke to the sound of a Cuccoo crowing loudly right outside. Light was beginning to shine through a small hole in the roof above him, it was already passed dawn. He jumped up from the pile of straw on which he lay, pulling his sheath strap over his shoulder and buckling it quickly. He stumbled out of the stall he was in as he pulled on his boots. Epona lifted her head up from her place in an open stall right across from him, she looked at him and snorted, plopping her head back onto the straw as if to say "It's too early, I'm not getting up" Link fitted his gauntelts back on and walked over to Eponas stall.  
"Come on, Epona, we have to go!" Link said quietly to the sleeping horse, who huffed as if she understood him and slowly stood up. Link opened the trunk that Malon had told him Eponas saddle was in, and pulled it out. It was heavy, and he had never handled a saddle before. He was about to put it on her back when she stepped away from it and towards the open trunk. She reached her head in and grabbed a thick blanket with her mouth.  
"Epona, what are you doing? don't eat that!" Link said to the horse, who turned towards him and dropped the blanket on his head. Link set the saddle down and pulled it off, looking at the horse with an irritated sigh. Then he noticed she was standing perfectly still, almost as if she were waiting for him to do something.  
"The blanket first?" he asked her, somehow not feeling weird to be talking to a horse. Epona looked at him and then looked away, still waiting. Link grabbed the corners of the blanket and tossed them over her back, smoothing out the wrinkles. Epona didn't move, she seemed happier now that he had gotten it right.  
"NOW the saddle?" Link asked. Epona whinnied. He took that as a yes and picked up the saddle, lifting it over Eponas back and sliding it on. Its straps hung down her back, two on each side, the two on his side having buckles on them. He kneeled down and buckled them tightly, then stood back up.  
"Now what? Oh yeah, the reighns." Link remembered. Before he could reach into the trunk, Epona had already grabbed the reighns from inside it and handed them to him.  
"Well these look pretty self explanatory." he said, Epona turned to face him, she had done this many times. Link slid the round strips of leather over her mouth and nose, hooking the reighns to the mouth piece and tightening the straps behind her ears. Everything looked ready to go, so Link took the horse by the reighns and headed for the door. Epona wouldn't move, she stood unbudged in the dirt and waited for him to stop pulling.  
"What is it?" Link asked her. Epona looked towards a stack of crates and Link smacked the top of his head. "Of course, I'm sorry girl." he said as he opened one of the crates and began taking out some food for each of them. His arm was full of apples, carrots, lettuce, plums, and a head of cabbage, he looked around him. "What to put it in..?" he asked himself. Epona held a brown cloth sack in her mouth and held her head towards him. Link took the bag. Replacing it with a carrot in her mouth. "Thank you" he said. Epona made a happy sound with her lips as she chewed the carrot.  
Link opened the door to the stables leading Epona out by her reighns, the bag of food strapped securely to the back of the saddle. Malon walked about busily in the kitchen through the window right across from him, she stopped suddenly as she saw him. She was holding a pan of bread with oven mitts on her hands, her apron covered with flour. Link mouthed the words 'good morning' to her, she smiled and did the same.  
"Malon, is my breakfast ready yet?!" he heard Ingo's voice growl from the upstairs bedroom. Malons smile vanished quickly as she looked up towards where Ingo was and then back at Link. The look on her face said 'hurry, he's coming!' Link took the message clearly and nodded at her. She set the bread on the table and waved to him sadly as he passed by the window. He walked briskly towards the exit of the Ranch, making sure to keep the metal on Epona's gear from clanking around too much.

A lone horse and rider stood atop the plateau overlooking the field, gazing intently at his surroundings. The sun rose at his back, lighting up the dark horizon above the peaks of the Ominous Mountain range many, many miles to the west. The sky was completely cloudless but for the continuous blackness that hung above Castle Town to the northeast. Something moving through the field to his left caught his eye, another rider, whose weapon strapped to his back flashed a quick and blinding flare of light as it caught the sun. He rode quickly down the path, looking like just a small mouse as far apart as they were. Something about this rider seemed to put a hook in this persons memory and tug on it annoyingly. He couldn't place it, but it seemed to him that he knew who this person was, even though he could just barely see him.  
He watched this rider intently until he disappeared behind a hill, going out of his sight completely. Two other riders approached him from behind, one a fourteen year old boy, and the other the boys father.  
"Terrian, we're heading out. Kakariko is about a half a days ride from here, I want to get there by two at the latest. Where did you say you were heading?" the man asked. Terrian continued to stare towards where the rider had vanished through the grassy hills, and sighed.  
"I'm not sure yet, but I was thinking about maybe checking out the lake." he said, thinking that he might get a chance to follow that rider.  
"We'll see you at Kakariko then?" asked the boy beside him. Terrian nodded at him.  
"See you there." he said.  
"Alright, bye Terrian!"  
"Be safe, Terrain, see you when you get to the village!"  
"Bye Bomber, don't worry Anthan, I'll be fine!" Terrian called to them as they rode down the steep slope of the plateau towards the field.  
The boy and his father became smaller and smaller as they rode past a few broken fences that had once been part of Lon Lon Ranch, and disappeared behind the Ranch itself. Terrian took up his horses reighns and steered it towards the other side of the plateau where a trail began that would lead him towards the lake.

CHAPTER 12  
Deep Roots in Lake Hylia

Link stood beside Epona on a small cliff on the edge of the lake, where a long bridge went from the bank to an island in its center. He had to shield his eyes from the brightness of the sparkles in the water that reflected back the morning sun. It was a beautiful place, so calm and peaceful. Link saw a fisherman alone in a boat getting in a few lines to start the day. Epona stood beside him with her head to the ground, casually taking bites of the green, dew-covered grass that glittered in the sunlight.  
He saw no temple, in fact, he only saw three buildings at all. One right beside him, and two far across the lake. None of them looked anything like a temple, although one of the buildings across the lake did look quite nice. At this time Link remembered exactly what Sheik had said, that the temple was at the lakes bed. He looked down into the deep water that became dark very fast, how in the world would he get down to the lake bed?  
The fisherman to his left in the middle of the lake began to row, and he waved towards Link friendily when he caught his eye. Link waved back, he could see that the fisherman was coming towards him. He let Eponas reighns go so that she could graze freely as the man in the boat came close enough that they could just hear each other.  
"That's a beautiful horse you have there, son!" the fisherman called to him with a smile.  
"Thank you, sir! Her name's Epona" Link said back, Epona lifted her head quickly and trotted back to him at the sound of her name. She nuzzled his back with her nose and rested her head on his shoulder. The fisherman laughed at the horses behavior.  
"I've only ever seen one other horse that behaved that way, so loyal and smart, and he lived right over there where I do now." the fisherman pointed towards the lovely house across the lake. "Well I'm about to dock up, why don't you meet me over there where there's less of a cliff and we'll get properly introduced" the fisherman said to him with a smile. Link nodded slowly, he had thought that the man would just say hello and go about his own business.  
"alright then." he said back. There was something familiar about the way the fishermans face looked when he smiled that made Link feel safer somehow. Epona followed Link to the other side of the building they had been standing next to, where they found the man just exiting his boat and beginning to tie it to a post. Link stopped behind him to wait for him to finish. Even with his back turned to him, Link still found the man familiar somehow. He wiped his hands off on his pants and turned around with a smile, but then stopped for a moment when he caught Links eyes with his own. He walked up to him and held out his hand, still staring at him oddly.  
"The name's Joriah, I'm nothing but a lowly local fisherman with a fancy house." he said, looking at Link as if he was trying to figure something out. Link grasped the mans outstretched hand.  
" I'm Link, I'm, uh, I guess you could say I'm kind of local. I was born here somewhere." Link told him. They shook hands as they each introduced themselves. At that moment Joriahs expression changed from trying to figure something out, to a look of realization.  
"Link, huh? Born here at the lake, huh?" Joriah sounded quite interested in this info. "Well, how about I show you the house? I have a feeling you'll be very interested in the story behind it, not to mention I bet neither of us have had a good breakfast yet." Joriah told him. Link thought about it, after all, Sheik had said that these things needed to be done sooner rather than later. But then he figured, what the heck? What was an hour more compared to seven years?

The open area on which the two buidlings stood was much larger than Link could have seen from where he was standing on the bank. There was a wide open space behind the two buildings where stood a large but empty corral and another fenced-in area. The rest was just a wide open meadow filled with lush green grass and wildflowers. Yet for its serenity and beauty, the place looked very sad and lonely. Link could tell that this had once been a very large ranch where many animals had lived, but now only one spotted and light-grey horse stood in the field.  
Joriah helped Link take off Eponas gear so that she could go and graze with Poe, as Joriah had told Link the grey horses name was. They walked to the barn where Joriah hung Eponas saddle and reighns up on the wall. There were over fifty separate stalls in the barn, much more than the barn at Lon Lon Ranch, but all of them were empty. Completely desolate of anything living, but for maybe a mouse or two. Joriah sighed as he too gazed sadly at the empty stalls.  
"It may be hard to believe, looking at it now, but this place was once the largest and most lively horse ranch in eastern Hyrule. Well, all of Hyrule for that matter, since at the time Hyrule was still at war with the Western Provinces and the land was still divided." Joriah explained to him.  
"That was seventeen years ago, it's been that long?" Link asked. Joriah nodded solemnly.  
"It was actually the last battle of that war that sealed the fate of this ranch, when its owners were killed during the battle and their son was lost. So the land passed to my own son, who was the very best of friends with all of them." Joriah laughed. " Quite a pair, he and the owner of this place, they had been pals since I and my wife moved here and my son was only three. So my son wasn't born here, actually theres only been one baby born here in the past sixty years, and my own son had been made to be that babys Godfather." he explained. A smile crept onto Links face, he now realized why this man seemed so familiar.  
"You're Idiens father." Link stated, it was pretty obvious. Joriah nodded with a proud smile.  
"And you're Darins son." Joriah stated. Link also nodded proudly. "You know, I knew it was you the moment I saw you. Those strong blue eyes always gave Darin away, that, I especially knew. His eyes gave you away, since you seem to have gotten them." he told Link. Joriah then walked passed him and towards the door that led outside. "Before my old mind forgets, I have to show you something. Now I know from the way you're equipped that you're on a mission, whatever it is, its none of my business if you can't tell me. But this wont take long, come with me." Joriah beckoned Link out of the barn and began leading him towards the large house. They entered through a door with stained glass windows and into a cozy looking foyer, where many paintings hung on the walls. Joriah walked up a flight of stairs to their right and took hold of one of the paintings, lifting it and removing it from where it hung. He came back down the stairs with the painting, smiling at it as he walked.  
"Now, this isn't completely exact, mind you, but it's the only one there is." Joriah said as he handed Link the painting. Links heart began to race as he looked into the faces of his parents. He needed no explanation, he knew it was them as soon as he laid his eyes on them. Now he knew why so many of the people he met outside of the forest had continuously told him how much he looked like his father. Link had seen himself in a looking glass once, and many times in windows. If his hair were darker and if he had a short rounded mustache and beard, he would look exactly like his father. He could see that his hair came from his mother, in whos arms a little blond haired blued eyed baby lay sleepily.  
"They had this done mere days before the battle, the paint was still a little damp when I heard that they, that all three of you, had been lost." Joriah said. Link lightly brushed his hand across the image of the beautiful, blond haired, green eyed woman holding his tiny infant from.  
"Shes so beautiful…" Link said quietly.  
"She was the prettiest little girl I'd ever seen, Idien thought so, too. He was quite jealous of your father the first time he saw your mother give him a kiss on the cheek. Don't tell him I told you, but Idien had such an unbelievable crush on her before she and your father were married." Joriah laughed. Link couldn't help but laugh with him at the image of Idien's little child-like face, wrinkling his nose and sticking his tounge out behind Darin's back. " Idien may have been a strapping young man, but Anya's heart belonged to Darin. Not to mention the fact that Idien was six years younger than her." Joriah scoffed with a smile. Link handed the painting back to him carefully, taking one last heartfelt glance at his parents as Joriah went back up the stairs to return the painting to its place on the wall.

After Link and Joriah had eaten a full meal of ham and eggs, Link began to feel that he needed to be on his way. It had been over an hour since he had arrived at the fishermans house, and he still needed to figure out a way down to the Temple at the bottom of the lake.  
He had told Joriah that he hadn't seen Idien in seven years and asked if Joriah had seen him lately. He said that he hadn't seen his son in quite a few years, and he didn't know why. He hadn't even received any letters from him, and he wondered if his son was even still alive.  
Link asked Joriah if Epona could be kept at the ranch while he did a few things around the lake. Joriah happily said yes, he was sure Poe would've been sad if she had to leave so soon. Link left the mans house grateful for the filling meal under his belt and the good time spent with a family friend. He thanked him for everything, including the chance to see what his parents looked like for the first time, and ventured off to find the Temple that would lead him to the Sage of Water.

The atmosphere of the cottage was a solemn but anxiously hopeful one. The two Sheikians sat at a table talking quietly for fear of being overheard by undesirable ears.  
"You are certain it was human? It was not an animal?" Impa asked.  
"No, it was definitely a human scream. And there was some faint yelling before it, the voices sounded angry." Sheik said.  
"Voices? There was more than one person?"  
"Yes, of that I am certain. One was him, Ganondorf. His was the voice I heard most often. But the scream was not his, to be honest, Impa, it sounded like Link." Sheik said. Impas face was drained of color and she was very quiet for a moment.  
"You don't think…? Could Link have been caught as he attempted to leave the Market? I know Ganondorf has his creatures patrol the area frequently, could he have been spotted?" Impa wondered desperately. Sheik shook his head.  
"I do not know. It had been more than an hour after Link had left me in the Temple that I heard this taking place. I wouldn't think that he would tarry that long in the town."  
"But even if it was Link and he had been caught, Ganondorf would not kill him, not until he was certain of where the other piece of the Triforce was. This would give us a chance."  
"A chance for what? If Link were captured then there would be no one to defeat Ganondorf. If that was the case, then it would be better if he had killed him. The only chance we would have would be if Link were to somehow escape." Impa was silent for a moment and gazed at the table in deep thought.  
"In any case, I am not sure at all that the scream had come from Link. And if not, then I would need to figure out what poor soul had done something so bad as to have Ganondorf himself venture down from his tower and release such anger upon him. If the person is lucky, he is either dead or escaped, with the latter being the less likely of the two." Sheik said regretfully. " If Link has in fact made it passed the shadow of Castle Town, then he will now be at the lake. All we can do now is wait." Sheik finished. Impa sighed uneasily, worried still that Link hadn't made it out of the dark gloom that was now smothering Castle Town.

A tall dead tree towered above Link as he stood atop the small island in the center of Lake Hylia. He gazed thoughtfully at its bare, lifeless limbs, not really paying any attention to the tree but still wondering how in the world he was supposed to swim down to the bottom of the lake. He shielded his eyes from the bright morning sun that continued to climb into the sky, ebbing closer and closer to the middle of the day. A large square stone protruded from the ground beside the tree, Link found it odd that he only now noticed it. He stepped up to the stone which he now saw had writing on its flat top, and began to read. The inscription read:

To see a way beneath the waves  
Stand here by mornings light  
Connect the three, the sun and thee  
and the island in your sight.

"Why can't it just tell me? Why does it always have to be in a mysterious rhyming riddle?" Link thought aloud to himself. He was getting irritated, but this riddle seemed to be pretty easy. He followed its instructions as they were written and looked out towards the sun. He followed a straight line from where it had risen, down to the mountain-covered horizon, and then to the lakes edge. A ways off the bank there was a tiny speck of land that he could tell was a small island. "Alright so I swim there then?" Link thought. He was rather disgruntled. He knew the Temple was at the lakes bottom, but he was hoping greatly that there would be an entrance to it that would not require any getting wet on his part. So obviously he now had to get in the lake and swim to the little island with all his gear on, which would make it all the more challenging since his sword and shield were made of heavy, dense metal.  
Water splashed everywhere as he jumped into the lake, creating quite a large wake on the lakes smooth, calm surface. He kicked and paddled to get back to the surface, wishing now that he had gotten in slower. His weapons weighed him down like a rock and he was already tiring just from trying to keep his head above the water. Soon he got into a rhythm that seemed to work by swimming sideways with one arm in front of him and making many quick kicks with both feet to dash through the water. It worked quite well, he swam reasonably fast and it became easier to stay afloat.  
The island was only slightly bigger than he thought it was, though it was still small enough that it just barely qualified as an island. There was a bush in the center of the island which took up a space about four feet in diameter. Around the bush was a stone square with carvings of the Zoras Sapphire on all four corners, letting Link know that this Temple was somehow in association with the Zoras. Link picked through the bush, pulling the branches apart and looking inside it. There was no dirt under it, in fact, it wasn't even growing. Under the dead bush was a metal hatch with large bolts and a round handle. He pulled, it came open quite easily, and he smiled as finally something was going right for him. It was surprisingly relatively bright down the hole under the hatch, it looked like fire light shining from deep within the chamber. A metal ladder led down the opening which he began to climb down, remembering to shut the hatch behind him as he continued on to enter the Temple.

CHAPTER 13  
Tricks of Ill Will  
And  
Fates Dreaded Meeting

Terrian pulled himself out of the water and onto the shore of a tiny island where he had watched the person he had been following disappear into the ground. He took off his boots and poured the lake water from them, then slipped them back onto his feet and began to wring out his sleeves and hair. A trail of water led from the bank where the person had emerged to the bush that grew in front of him and then stopped. Terrian already knew that there was an entrance to something under this bush, he had seen the person lift the hatch.  
Steam rolled off his back as the warm sun behind him shone onto his wet clothes. He shivered a little as he looked for the handle to the hatch. Grabbing the round ring of metal he had now found, he yanked it open. The inside of the hatch had the sweet smell of a fresh, crystal clear stream, and had not a hint of the nasty fish smell that Terrian disliked so much but was now drenched in.  
He knew that Bomber and Anthan were going to be waiting for him in Kakariko, but he just wanted to find out who this person was and where in the world this odd hatch led.

Link had no idea how anything in this Temple was going to help him find the Sage of Water. All he saw were doors that lead to more doors and everywhere there were pools of water. Most of them he had to swim through to continue on through the Temple. Many times he heard strange noises that sounded like someone running or sometimes walking through a puddle, but he never saw any form of a living thing in this entire place, not even a fish.  
He came to a door in a place that seemed the emptiest and quietest so far of the sanctuary. He opened it even though something in his mind told him he should just turn around and find a different door to go through.  
Link looked around him. The room he had just entered was one of the largest that he had seen in the entire Temple, but it seemed also to be the most empty. The only visible thing inside was a crooked and dead-looking tree in the center of the room. He stepped towards the tree slowly, and his feet made silent splashes of water as he walked. The entire floor of the room was blanketed in water an inch deep, and his slow movement through it made tiny rolling ripples through his reflection.  
He had an eerie feeling about this room, as if he was being watched from within one of the mist shrouded corners. Silence hung in the air like a menacing threat that numbed his senses, and the very atmosphere of the chamber seemed to be calling out desperate warnings. Still his motion pressed against his better judgment, and he ebbed closer and closer to the middle of the room.  
The tree in the middle looked very out of place, it was tall and narrow with no life on it what so ever. It grew on a small mound of dirt that barely showed through the water, but the dirt itself did not seem to be wet at all. Link stepped past the twisted tree and continued on to the other side of the room, where he hoped he would find a door that would take him out of this place that made him feel so uneasy.  
" Damn." Link said quietly to himself as he reached the door. It was barred shut with no way of getting through. And just when he had thought his luck was beginning to turn.  
As he stood thinking beside the blockaded entrance, a sudden disturbance in the silence of the chamber made every muscle in his body tense. It was just like the other noises he had heard as he went through the first parts of the Temple, but this time it was louder and more pronounced. Now he was certain, there was someone in this place with him.  
Not daring to turn around, he slightly moved his head to the side in an attempt to get a look behind him. It was undeniable that someone or something was there, there was no point in waiting terrified for what ever it was to jump him from behind. Almost without thinking about it, he launched himself around and quickly drew the Master Sword and his shield, ready now for what had found him.  
But there was nothing there, just the tree on its little island and the undisturbed film of water lying peacefully around it. He was sure he had heard the slow movements of footsteps lightly treading through the water behind him.  
Link had learned in his treks as a child through Hyrule that things in dark times were not always as they seemed, and were never to be taken for granted. It was for this reason that he chose not to sheath his weapon.  
Holding the sword tightly at his side he edged forward into the mirror of water, creating many ripples and tides as he walked. Coming closer and closer to the lifeless tree protruding forth from the mount of dark soil, Link noticed something peculiar about the tree that he had not seen on his first pass of it. A strange shadow stretched up the bark but stopped little more than half way up. The vague lighting in this chamber of the temple cast only slight shadows onto the floor, it would have been impossible with the placement of the tree for this to be a natural shadow. Perhaps the bark on this side of the tree was just darker… black almost, Link thought. He stopped nearly ten feet from the tree and looked it over. For no more than a minute Link watched the darkness carefully till he finally had convinced himself that it was nothing more than very dark bark.  
Then suddenly he heard that same sloshing noise once again behind him. He turned around quickly this time, but same as before, nothing was there.  
Something was going on that was not seeming to be for his good, whatever this thing was it was trying to get him worked up. It was working. His heart was racing and his palms were sweating, and a terrible urge in his mind screamed a voice that said he needed to get out of this room. He turned back around towards the tree, anxious to quickly leave this place.  
Suddenly, as he faced forward, he was jerked to a stop by the same dark shadow that had been standing beside the tree, now standing merely inches from his face. He jumped backwards away from it, but the thing was quick. It launched after him, and to Links shock he realized it was armed. It swung a long black-bladed sword swiftly in a horizontal strike at him and Link barely escaped by falling onto his knees. It jumped over him nimbly, and almost unnaturally he landed on the ground not making even the slightest disturbance in the water. Link front-rolled a distance from it and quickly stood up to face it. Suddenly the being fell through the floor, disappearing completely from view. Link looked around him from side to side, wondering how it had just fallen through the solid rock floor. He still didn't see it anywhere. What in the world was this thing? " Show yourself you coward!" Link yelled. His voice bounced off the walls, and like a boomerang, came right back to him and rang in his ears. Adrenaline rushed through his veins and his hair stood on end as his echoing voice sliced through the silence.  
" Coward, huh?, if that's true then we've both been cheated." A dark voice chuckled from behind him. It's very essence was chilling, an unwelcome sound on any occasion, but now it was almost enough to stop his breath. Link turned to face the thing he now knew was at least some what human, and was shocked by what he saw. The person was almost nothing but pure black, he had no depth to him, no shadows to outline his features. It was as if he himself was nothing but a shadow. And his eyes.. His eyes were nothing short of terrifying, but they were somehow familiar. They literally glowed a deep blood red, the only part of him visibly outlined by the darkness of his face. The person chuckled grimly again at Links shock.  
" Who are you?" What are you.. Link thought  
" You seem surprised to see me.." The person said, casually shifting his weight from one foot to the other.


	6. The Goron's Ruby, Sacred Stone of Fire

CHAPTER6  
The Gorons Ruby  
The Sacred Stone of Fire

After about three hours, Link arrived in Kakariko Village. It was a pleasant little town, not quite as busy and loud as Castle Town, but he could hear what sounded like a construction site somewhere in the village. The entire village consisted of about five separate buildings, not including whatever they were still constructing, and the ground was all blanketed in a thick cover of dark green grass. As he walked through the grassy grounds, he saw straight in front of him was a small tree in the center of the road, and beyond that, up some stairs was what looked like a well. Above the well, was an enormous windmill. Turning slowly in the evening breeze, it towered over the village like a mountain. Link could tell that the sun was about to set by the bright orange glow on its face and by his long shadow stretched out in front of him, and he yawned deeply as he went along. He had had a very long and eventful day, and wondered if maybe he should find a place to sleep for a while. As he walked passed the tree and up the stairs to the well, he looked down into it. It was completely full, and the water stood still and black as it reflected his image back at him. He looked away from the water and gazed all around him, up at the windmill that shot up right in front of him. Taking glances at his surroundings, he saw that the noise of hammers and bangs was the still going construction of the frame of a brick building next to the well and up some more stairs. Men walked along the brace, it seemed to him that most of them weren't really doing anything, and a large bald man with a white mustache yelled at them to " Quit lollygagging and get to work!" Link laughed at the men as they just scoffed at the old man and continued whatever they were doing.  
Link looked away from the building and saw a woman franticly running around trying to get some small chickens into a pen. She chased them all around through the grass, and then suddenly they all veered towards him. The flock of about five birds was charging him at full speed, and they were getting closer and closer. Link gasped and jumped out of their way as they flew up and tried to claw him. The woman didn't seem to notice him as she continued to chase the rally of attack chickens. They swerved and seemed to be coming at him again. What was going on, he thought, what was with these evil, creepy little birds? He turned and ran away from the swarm of poultry that was pursuing him. The woman saw him this time and was now even more frantic about catching them.  
" I'm sorry! I don't know what's gotten into them!" The woman said. Link looked back at her behind the flock and continued to run. " Whatever you do, don't stop running!" She said to him.  
" Don't worry, not a problem!" Link huffed as he kept on running. The group of carpenters working on the building all stopped and stared at them as they ran around the village, even a couple other people opened their doors and windows to get a peek at what all the noise was. Link saw as he ran that there was an opening in the stone wall beside the stairs to the windmill. He jumped to the side quickly and front-flipped out of the way of the still pursuing chickens. He got up and looked back at them, they were turning towards him yet again and coming fast. He turned around towards the opening in the wall and ran through it away from the birds, who seemed to be afraid, now, to follow him into this part of the village. They turned away from him and back towards their pen with the woman still chasing them.  
Link stood and caught his breath as he watched them flop away from him. As his heart rate began to slowly decline, he turned around and looked at where he had taken himself. The path he was on winded through a canyon-like opening between two large hills. The road disappeared behind a turn in the crevasse, and he couldn't see what it led to. He decided to find out where this road went, and continued walking through the path. The road here also was covered in a thick carpet of grass, and looked as if not many people used it. After five minutes of slowly walking through the road, he arrived where it stopped and opened up into a large area filled with short fences and stones protruding out of the ground. There was a sign above the walkway as the trail opened up, the sign read " Hyrule Royal Cemetery." Link didn't know what a cemetery was, but it looked depressing and cold. There was no one there but a little boy who was limping around with a stick as he walk along the paths in front of the stones. Link continued on through the tall sign and into the cemetery towards the boy. To his right, there was an old, worn out shack beside the dirt walls in the corner of the area, and occasionally, he saw a puff of smoke or two emerge from a small pipe coming out of its roof. He walked up the trail and looked down at one of the stones as he approached them, it looked like there was something engraved on its flat face. " Here Lies Jemoras: the last chief of the Shiekiahs." It read. Link now had a slight idea of where he was, and was a little nervous about being here.  
" Hi" Said a small voice behind him. Link turned around. It was the little boy who had been walking around through the trails.  
" Hey." Link said back.  
" What's yer name?" The boy asked him with a bright and slightly toothless smile as he held the stick he had against his shoulder.  
" I'm Link." He replied. " I'm not from around here." Link told him. The boy giggled.  
" I could tell that!" He said. " Every one here don't just come walk'in around the graveyard unless they's got kin folk buried here." The boy explained. Link looked down at the dirt and made sure he wasn't stepping near a stone as the boy said Graveyard. " My names Bomber, I'm seven." The boy told him. " Did you tell me how old you were?" He asked. Link shook his head.  
" No I didn't. I'm ten." He said. " This is a graveyard?" He asked him. The boy nodded.  
" Yup. Don't you know's a bone yard when you see's one?" The boy laughed. Link wasn't quite as comfortable as the boy was as his thoughts were confirmed about what this place was.  
" Then, there are.. dead people.. under there?" Link pointed to the ground beside the stones. The boy nodded again.  
" Yer not a-scared, is ya?" Bomber laughed. Link looked at him, surprised.  
" What, you're not afraid?" Link asked him.  
" Nope. I been play' in around here's since I was four. There's nuthin to be scared of here.. 'sept Dampe the grave keeper." Bomber looked over towards the little hut by the beginning of the trail.  
" Does he live there in that little shack?" Link asked him. Bomber looked back at him and nodded.  
" Yeah. But don't worry, he usually sleeps in the daytime." Bomber explained. Link thought what an odd guy this Dampe must be to sleep during the day inside a tiny shack next to a bunch of dead people. " He's really scary.. When he's awake." Bomber went on. " But in the daytime, I like to walk along the trails here and pretends I'm him." Bomber smiled. " I limps around with my stick and try's to make scary faces like Dampe. But I'm not very scary, am I?" Bomber held his hands behind his back and looked bashful.  
" No, not really." Link shook his head and smiled.  
" Nah, I'm too cute.." Bomber smiled and began to walk along the trails again. " Maybe we should play a game. Wanna?" Bomber turned around towards him and asked.  
" Sure.. I guess." Link agreed. He looked back towards then sky and saw that the sun was still sinking slowly behind the hills above Hyrule Field far to the west, and an eerie twilight was beginning to over shadow the skies above them.  
" Okee dokee! Let's play a game to see's who can be the scariest! It's called, Who Can Be the Scariest!" Bomber was very excited to have a playmate, and acted like he hadn't played with anyone in years. " You gotta run around and act all creepy, and see's who gets a-scared first's!" Bomber swung his hands in the air and turned around to run up the slow climbing hill behind him. " Ready?! GO!" He yelled, and ran up the trail and around the fence behind Link. Link didn't quite know what to do to be scary, and didn't want to make the little boy cry, so he just ran around and waved his hands in the air, yelling.  
" Roooar!" Link yelled as he ran up the trail behind Bomber. Bomber began to giggle as he heard Link yelling quite ridiculously behind him, and tried to be scary himself. He ran up another trail to the highest hill in the cemetery and tried to keep his distance from Link, who was now sort of getting the hang of being frightful and deepened his voice to a low growl as he put on his creepiest face. Bomber stopped and turned around at Link quickly, yelling very loud in his face and showing his teeth as he raised his stick in the air. Link wasn't moved, and yelled even louder and stood up even taller with a scrunched up nose and gritted teeth. Bomber gasped and turned back around quickly to run away from him, as he took a big step, he tripped on a hard tuff of grass and crashed to the dirt, dropping his stick. Link had also begun to run after him and tripped over the stick that Bomber had dropped as he stepped forward. Link landed right behind Bomber, and luckily his head hit the ground within inches of a hard, unforgiving grave stone. Bomber coughed as he stood up and brushed himself off, Link was still lying on the ground, something had caught his eye on the headstone next to him.  
" Hee hee. Alright, you win, you really scared me." Bomber smiled at him as he plucked a stick out of his shirt. Link didn't look up at him, he just lay on the ground staring at the grave marker. Bomber looked at him funny. " What'cha do'in down there?" He asked Link. He bent down to look at the grave as well, and also stared at it to see what was so interesting about it. Link finally looked away from the stone, he looked pale and shocked. He and Bomber stared at each other for a while. ".. I can't read.." Bomber said to him finally. Link looked at the stone again and stood up. " What does it say, Link?" Bomber asked him. Link was silent for a moment. The stone read: Here rests Darin: Beloved husband, father, friend, and Commander. The Heavens shine down upon Hyrule's man of valor. Link was barely breathing as he read the words over and over again.  
"..my father.." Link said quietly. Bomber looked back at the stone.  
" Huh? That's yer daddy?!" Bomber was also shocked. " No way! I'm really sorry, Link. I didn't know." Bomber put his head down.  
" No. It's alright, you didn't do anything wrong." Link told him. He looked at the stone beside his fathers and walked in front of it. Bomber stepped back out of his way and looked down at it as well. The second stone read: Here lies Anya: Beloved wife, mother, and friend. Find peaceful eternal rest, our lady of honor.  
" A-and.. Who's this one?" Bomber asked him nervously as he heard Link sigh.  
"..my mother." Link answered him. Bomber put his head down again, and looked like he was going to cry himself.  
" Gosh.. I'm s-so sorry.." Bomber's voice quivered. Link turned around and smiled at him sadly.  
" Why are you so sorry? You didn't do anything bad. You're right, you didn't know, and neither did I." He said. Bomber looked up and wiped his eyes, smiling back at him.  
" Thanks, Link." Bomber said. " It just makes me so really very sad. I don't know what's I would do without my mommy and daddy.." He said. Link thought about how he felt when he was seven like Bomber, he didn't even know what a mom and dad were, so he didn't feel a longing for them. Even now, he didn't remember what a mother's nurturing care or a fathers encouraging voice felt like. Idien was and probably always would be the closest thing he'll ever know to a father. " Yer really tough, Link.." Bomber told him with a big smile. " I want's to grow up to be tough like you! And scary like you, too!" Bomber was very happy to have Link as a friend. Link chuckled at him.  
" Thanks, Bomber. I'm sure you will." He said. Bomber smiled and clapped his hands together.  
" Yay!" He said. As they stood there talking, the hadn't noticed the sky becoming cloudy over the colorful sunset. The sky suddenly became very dark, a storm was coming. A single fat rain drop fell from the clouds and landed on Link's nose with a "SPLAT". Link flinched in surprise at the water drop on his face, making Bomber flinch also. They both looked up into the sky at the dark storm clouds. " Uh oh.. Storm's come'in." Bomber said. Suddenly he gasped. " It's dark! That means Dampe's gonna wake up soon!" He said. Link looked away from the sky and down at Bomber, who had a look of terror on his face. " We gotta get out of here's!" He exclaimed. Link turned and looked back at the graves again, the now more frequent rain drops were drenching the once dry dark stone.  
" Where do we go?" Link asked him, looking away from the stones.  
" Well to my house, of course! C'mon!" He said, and turned to run down the dirt trail as the rain began to pour down on them. Link followed him quickly down the cemetery and back through the wooden sign overhead, into the canyon trail and back to the village. As they exited the trail and emerged quickly into the town, they saw that the carpenters and everyone else that was outside had also begun to seek shelter from the storm that was now dropping small hail stones onto the ground. Link and Bomber ran passed the construction site and towards the well, where the stairs below it were now becoming slippery with icy hail. A loud clap of thunder rolled as they ran down the stairs and back towards the lone tree in the middle of the village. As they approached it, they turned right, up some longer stairs to two more buildings that were nestled alongside a wall of light brown cliffs at the foot of Death Mountain. There was a tall, broad gate of metal and stone blocking the trail up to the mountain and a guard stood unmoved by the storm, keeping it safe. They reached the top of the stairs and the two buildings on either side of them, and turned to the one on their left. Bomber opened the door quickly and they stopped at its step. He pointed to the guard at the gate.  
" That's my daddy!" He said to Link. The guard waved at them through the thick rain. Bomber smiled and waved back at him. " HI DADDY!" He yelled through the loud downpour. The guard couldn't hear him, though, and just waved him to go inside. " Darn. He cant hear me, oh well, we'll see him tomorrow's." Bomber said to Link as he stepped inside the house. Link took another look at Death Mountain. towering over the village, looking down on him like a giant, he could barely see it through the rain and hail. He stepped inside Bombers house and shut the door behind him. It was a very comforting feeling to shut the door and hear the storm outside suddenly become much quieter. The house inside was very pleasant. It was nicely decorated with curtains, rugs, and nice furniture, and smelt of fresh baked bread. Although it was a little small, it seemed just right for a family of three. " Mommy, I'm home!" Bomber said loudly as they stepped out of the small hallway at the beginning of the house. A woman stepped out of a room to their right wearing a bright blue apron and wiping her hands on a white towel.  
" Oh, Bomber! I was so worried about you out in this storm! Were you out playing in the cemetery again?" She ruffled up his hair and asked him as Bomber hugged her legs.  
" Yeah, I was." He told her. She laughed.  
" Silly.." She said to him as she looked up and saw Link. She almost gasped, she had just noticed him standing there. Bomber quickly jumped and remembered that his mother didn't know who Link was, but there he was in her house.  
" Oh! Mommy, I met a friend today!" He said as he walked over to Link with a smile. " This is Link, he's ten and he's not from around here's." Bomber explained. Link grinned and waved at her shyly. " OH! And he's really scary, too! He scared me really good today!" Bomber was very happy to introduce Link to his mother. The woman smiled and walked up to Link as she held out her hand and grasped Links softly.  
" Well, I'm glad that Bomber now has a friend that is real." she chuckled. Bomber crossed his arms and huffed. " It's nice to meet you, Link. I'm Nifera, Bombers mother." She said as they both shook hands.  
" Hi." Link said to her. Bomber giggled quietly, he could tell that Link was being shy.  
" That is a very interesting outfit you have on.." She said as she now noticed Link's forest-green tunic and hat, and the shiny and gleaming sword strapped to his back. Link looked at his tunic, boots, and back at his sword also as she commented on them.  
" I'm from the forest, if you haven't already guessed that." Link smiled.  
" The forest? Wow, that's quite a ways away from here. Are you traveling, or just visiting? Did you come with friends?" Nifera asked him. Link thought of Dink and Malon, and thought he should leave them out of his story for their sake.  
" I'm, uh.. Traveling." He said. " And I came alone, I don't really know may people this far away from the forest." he said. Nifera nodded and smiled.  
" Well. I'm glad you met Bomber today, I would hate to have you outside in the horrid weather, you are both already soaked to the skin." She laughed, and looked down at Bomber closely where she could see a couple patched of dirt on his hands and face. She looked back at Link and searched him also for any grime, and found that they were both very dirty from the tumble in the dust they had in the cemetery. " And yet, for as wet as you both got, you are still filthy!" She smiled. Link and Bomber both looked themselves over, guiltily gazing at the spots of dirt all over them. " Well, dinner will be done very soon. So I suggest you both go and wash up before we sit to eat. Link felt a little guilty, bringing his muddy self into the woman's house, but not in a bad way. He had actually never been told to clean up before eating, he was getting just a taste of what it was like to have a mother, and for being told what to do, he kind of liked it. " Oh, Link.." Nifera continued. " Do you already have a place to stay for the night?" She asked. Link actually hadn't thought about where he was going to sleep that night, so he shook his head, no. Nifera smiled and was about to tell him something when Bomber suddenly broke out in an exited dance.  
" Ooo! MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY!, can he stay here's?! Please please please?!" Bomber exclaimed.  
" I was just about to ask him, but it's up to him whether or not he wants to." Nifera smiled at her jumpy son and then looked to Link for an answer. Link was very happy to have this offer, and gladly took it.  
" I would love to!" Link said. Bomber once again began to jump up and down and dance as he squealed with delight.  
" That's great, sweetie. We would be delighted to have you as our guest." Nifera was happy, but still not quite as happy as Bomber, who continued to jump around next to them. " I'll make a bed for you in Bomber's room after supper, which like I said is almost ready so you both need to wash up." She smiled again.  
" Okay!" Bomber stopped jumping and grabbed hold of Link's arm. " C'mon, Link! I'll show you where the water and stuff is!" Bomber said, tugging on Link's arm trying to pull him towards the other end of the house. Nifera laughed softly at the two as she walked back into her little kitchen. Bomber took him into the back of the house where there were two small rooms on either side of them, and a sink in between the rooms in front of them. " You pour's the water from this pitcher and in the sink, then you take this rag and you get's it wet.." Bomber was explaining.  
" I think he knows how to wash himself, Bomber honey!" they heard Nifera call to them from the kitchen. Bomber stopped talking and silently took the rag to clean himself. Actually, Link had never used one of these things, and was happy to get an explanation.

Link lay in his soft cushiony bed later that night listening to the rain drip lightly on the roof above and thinking. What a long and strange day he had had. He looked over at Bomber's little wooden dresser, where the Kokiri Sword and his father's Hylian Shield lay propped against it's side. Two pieces of two totally different worlds, and yet, they were both so very much a part of him. The small candle lit on the wall near the door made a bright reflection on the shimmering gold plating that made up the symbol of the Triforce of Courage on the base of the shield. He wondered if he would every earn that star. For him, that golden triangle symbolized his father, the courageous and patriotic Hylian Commander that seemed to have make such an impact on the people of Hyrule. He hoped that someday he, too, would earn the Triforce of Courage as his father did.  
" Hey, Link.." Said a quiet, sleepy voice from the bed beside him. Link looked over towards where he had thought Bomber was asleep.  
" Yeah, Bomber?" Link answered.  
" What was yer Mommy and Daddy's names?.." He asked.  
" My mom's name was Anya, and my dad's name was Darin." Link replied, now remembering their gravestones that he had found that day in the cemetery.  
" Oh.. My daddy talks about him sometimes.. He says he misses him lots.. And he knows lots of his friends that misses him lots, too.." Bomber still sounded very tired and spoke breathily. " He's yer daddy?.. Wow, wait till I tell mommy and daddy.." It seemed that everyone Link met knew his parents, not only knew, but almost revered it seemed.  
" What's your dad's name?" Link asked him.  
" my daddy?.. His name is Anthan, but he wants me to call him daddy.." Bomber told him.  
" That's nice.." Link said with a sigh.  
" Do you has any brothers or sisters?.." Bomber asked him.  
Link thought about the answer to this question, he really wasn't quite sure. He thought maybe he could call Dink his brother, but that wasn't all accurate.  
"..No." Link finally said. " I don't.." He told Bomber.  
"..Me neither's.." Bomber said almost longingly. He was silent for a moment after he spoke. " We could pretend's we're brothers.. Just fer pretend's.." Bomber smiled with his eyes now closed. Link smiled as well.  
" Ok, Bomber.. I mean, brother.." Link said with another sigh. He too was quite tired now, and within less than a minute he could hear Bomber breathing peacefully now in a deep sleep. Link sighed again and looked up at the window on the other side of him. It had stopped raining now, and he could see the faint sparkles from the distant stars beginning to shine through the thinning clouds above the village. Tiny drops of water still slowly dripped from the roof overhang outside. The slow, lazy drips and the peaceful glistening of the stars above seemed to make him feel even more sleepy. His eyelids became heavy, and slowly he began to close them to quickly fall asleep.

Link and Bomber awoke with a start the next morning as a loud bang was heard outside, followed by an angry yell.  
" What are ya DO'IN!?" The man's voice said loudly. " You've just cost us about 200 rupees, you clumsy oaf! Now pick up that mess and start rebuilding that wall!" He yelled. It was the old man in charge of the construction site by the well. " Worthless no good bunch o' lazy-" They heard the man continue to go on. Link and Bomber both sighed and yawned as they rubbed their eyes and looked out the window. Aside from the rude awakening, it was a very beautiful morning. The sky was blue and there wasn't a cloud to be seen in it.  
" Hiya, big brother!." Bomber said as he looked down from his bed at him. Link looked away from the window and up at the boy's cheerful little face smiling down at him.  
" Hey, little brother." Link replied with another yawn.  
" Did you sleeps okay?" Bomber asked him. Link nodded and sniffed the air. Something smelt very good. " Mommy's makein' ham for breakfast, it smells like." Bomber said as he sniffed the air as well. " Yummy, I like ham. Do you, Link?" Bomber asked him.  
" Of course!" Link smiled and sat up.  
" Good! Let's go get some!" Bomber jumped out of bed and ran out of the room. Link laughed, he had never seen someone so full of energy, especially so soon after waking up. He stood up off the bed and stretched with yet another yawn, then walked over to grab his equipment from by the dresser.

" Well there you are!" Nifera said as Link walked into the kitchen with his weapons already strapped to his back. " Are you going somewhere already?" She asked him when she saw him looking as if he was prepared for a battle. " If you had plans to leave early, I'm afraid I'm going to have to spoil them, because you're not going anywhere without some ham." She said with a smile, serious but not angry. Link thought it over, he really wouldn't need to have his weapons on just to eat breakfast. So he loosened the buckle on his sheath strap and took them off for now.  
" The pig's already dead, Link. It's not gonna jump up and bite'cha." Bomber jokingly teased him about bringing a sword to the breakfast table. Link smiled and sat down across from him. " Mommy?.." Bomber asked.  
" yes, honey?.." Nifera replied.  
" Is daddy gonna come and eats breakfast with us?" Bomber asked his mother.  
" yes, just as soon and Mr. Jaymor comes to take his place at the gate." She told him. Bomber smiled and clapped his hands together excitedly. Nifera slipped on some oven mittens and opened the oven door.  
Anthan arrived at the house no later than ten minutes after they had woke up, and within an hour, they had all inhaled the ham and the side of eggs that Nifera had cooked, and they were all quite full. Bomber tried as best he could to do as he was told and finish everything on his plate, while still trying to tell his parents all that he and Link had talked about the night before. Anthan was especially surprised and delighted to learn that his young guest was the son of his former Commander, and asked Link many questions about where he had been living these past years, and if he had been to see Idien yet. Link didn't tell them much, and he still left out Dink and Malon, and the Sacred Stone he was carrying. Nifera cried a little when Link told them that he had found his parents graves yesterday, and that he didn't know he even had parents up until two days ago. Link didn't want to trouble them with everything he had done recently, and found it best that they didn't know most of it, so he decided to casually change the subject when the opportunity came.  
" I don't think I've ever eaten something so good in my entire life!" Link complimented Nifera on her cooking. Nifera smiled very happily back at him.  
" How sweet. Well you're welcome, honey." Nifera said, daintily dabbing her mouth with her napkin.  
"…Bomber? don't you have something to tell your mother as well?.." Anthan said to his son across the table. Bomber was a little confused and looked from his mom to his dad and back again.  
"B-but, I always eats stuff like this, and I has eaten things more good before.." Bomber said innocently. They were all silent, Link tried as hard as he could not to snicker at that seemingly harmless statement.  
" Bomber, that's not what I meant.." Anthan said. " And I know you're talking about your mother's pumpkin cinnamon loaf cake, but I was talking about your breakfast."  
" What about's my breakfast? Ooo! Are we having pumpkin cinnamon loaf cake today?!" Bomber was very excited and clapped his hands together. Link leaned over and whispered in Bombers ear.  
" He wants you to say thank you to your mom…" Link said. Bomber now looked quite humiliated, and blushed as he held his head down.  
" Thank you fer breakfast, mommy…" He said to Nifera. She stood up from the table, walked over to the boy and kissed him on the top of his head.  
" You're welcome, sweetie.." She said with a smile. Bomber looked pitifully up at his mother and smiled.  
After Nifera had cleared the table, the all sat in the sitting room on soft couches and chairs and talked about the day ahead of them.  
"Jaymor is off duty at three O' clock this afternoon, and I'll be taking over for him then. I probably wont be off till around eleven tonight." Anthan told his wife, who was sitting close next to him on a the love seat. Bomber and Link sat side by side on the two cushioned chairs and listened. The chairs hadn't been next to each other originally, but Bomber insisted on moving his chair closer to Link's.  
" Why is the gate to the mountain so heavily guarded?" Link asked Anthan.  
" Well, it didn't use to be, not like it is now. Some strange things have been going on up near its summit, and not just the usual eruptions." Anthan told him.  
"Like what kind of things?"  
"Well, the Gorons that I've talked to say that someone has blocked the entrance to Dodongo's Cavern with a huge rock and they cant get any food out of it anymore. Along with that, their chief, Darunia, has locked himself in his chambers and has been there for almost three days. They even say that he has taken the Sacred Stone of Fire from its alter and is keeping it in there with him." Anthan explained. Link knew that all of this had something to do with Ganondorf, and for that matter, himself. This was going to make getting the Ruby a lot more difficult. " All the Gorons are in a fit, from what I hear, they are coming close to starvation up there. Some of them say that Darunia has taken the stone to protect it from the rest of the Gorons, they say that a few of them tried to eat the ancient thing!" Anthan almost laughed, but held it back. Desperation for food in starvation wasn't really something to get a laugh out of.  
" Eat a rock?! That's silly!" Bomber exclaimed as he shook his head. Link agreed, even if he was on the brink of death from lack of food, he would never try to eat something like a rock.  
" Rocks are what the Gorons eat, son.." Anthan told him. Both of the boys were very dumbfounded to hear this.  
" They eat… rocks? You mean, as normal food?" Link asked him. Anthan nodded, and Nifera smiled at their surprise and the looks on their faces. " Well.. Then, why are they starving? There are plenty of rocks up there, the entire mountain is made of rocks!" Link wondered.  
" Yes I know, but the Gorons only eat certain rocks, I don't know exactly what kind they are, but they can only be found in Dodongo's Cavern. Stones like rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds are a rare delicacy for them, so I can imagine Darunia's concern for the Sacred Ruby." Anthan held his wife's shoulder and pulled her a little closer to him. Nifera held his hand and looked up at him. " I wish there was something the Royal Guard could do for them.." Anthan sighed.  
"… I still think its silly…" Bomber said to them. Anthan and Nifera looked over at their son, who they knew to be full of his own opinions and not afraid to voice them publicly. Link sighed, he didn't know what to do. He couldn't just waltz up there into the village of a bunch of starving Gorons, ask for their most prized and precious possession, and then leave them with nothing in return. This was going to be more difficult that he thought. Through the silence of the room and the thoughts of dread he had of going up the mountain, he thought of Dink. He still had no idea where he was, or if he was alright, and he wished more than anything that he would just show up unexpectedly before he left, wanting very much not to have to face this task alone.  
"So.." Anthan could sense the feelings of unhappiness and thoughtful sadness that the current conversation had stirred up, and changed the subject. " What are your plans, young Commander?" He looked over at Link with a smile. Link's thoughts of dread did not disappear with the new discussion, and he looked up at the man without a smile.  
"Um.." Link sighed as he thought of how exactly he would tell these kind people that he, a ten year old boy, was going to venture up the steep, rugged slopes of an active volcano, enter the village of starving, rock-hardy Gorons with terrible dispositions and major attitudes from lack of nourishment, and ask them for their Sacred relic. He almost winced at the thought himself now that he really thought about the situation. At this moment, he thought maybe it might be better to tell them why exactly he had come to the village in the first place. The family anxiously awaited his reply to Anthan's question. " Well.. I've actually been sent here by Zelda to talk to the Gorons.." He said quietly. There was a pause, and Anthan began to laugh.  
" Oh my! You're full of ideas! Hah, now, what are you REALLY going to do?" Anthan said, with a hint of laughter still inching its way out of his throat. Link didn't say anything. Anthan's smile faded, the stern look on Link's face and the fact that he had just pulled out a paper signed by the Princess, told him that the boy was being very serious. Link handed him the note from Zelda saying that Link was, in fact, on Messenger Duty from her to the Gorons. He sat back down quickly and for some reason almost felt guilty as Anthan read the paper. He didn't know if he was doing the right thing in telling Anthan this, Zelda had said to keep it a secret, Idien couldn't even tell Malon when she had asked. He silently and dreadfully awaited the soldiers response to this new knowledge. " You can't be serious! What kind of game has our princess come up with now?!" Anthan said loudly.  
" What?! What does it say, daddy?" Bomber launched out of his chair and ran to his fathers side. Link began to sweat nervously, what was Anthan going to do? Would he keep him from going?  
" It says…" Anthan paused and irritably cleared his throat to read the paper aloud. " This is Link. He is under my orders to save Hyrule. I, Princess Zelda, give him permission to enter any part of Hyrule he pleases with severe consequences to anyone that attempts to hinder his quest.." Anthan paused. " Signed: Zelda, Princess of Hyrule." He finished. Bombers jaw dropped ten feet.  
" woooooow!" He said. Anthan folded the paper and looked back at Link, all three of them did. Their looks were piercing, and Link felt as if he had done something terribly wrong and unforgivable, although he didn't know why.  
" And how on Earth does the Princess expect me to allow such a young boy to enter the mountain alone?!" Anthan asked him. " The Commander wont even let us soldiers up there right now, and especially not alone!" Link didn't speak, he hardly dared to move. He looked back and forth between him and Nifera, who seemed to be very worried and almost terrified.  
" You're not seriously thinking of going through with this, are you?.." Nifera asked him. Link took a breath, and nodded solemnly. Nifera closed her eyes and held her head down.  
" Then I suppose there's nothing we can do to stop you.."  
" Like hell we cant!" Anthan said angrily. " I'm not going to let Darin's son venture into his own death under my watch!" He yelled. " Whether under the Princess's orders or not!"  
" B-but daddy.. Zelda said that there would be severe conse.. cons.. Con-see-kenses fer anyone that tried to stop him.." Bomber stuttered in a vain attempt to repeat Zelda's use of formal language.  
" My guess is that she sent Link on this mission without her fathers consent, we'll just see what the King has to say about this!" Anthan stood up in a fury.  
" NO! please!.." Link stood up and said loudly. Anthan stopped short and turned to him, shocked at Links reaction to this. " I- I mean, you don't need to tell him, he doesn't need to know.." Link said, now regretting his decision to reveal his plans to the soldier.  
" And what do you mean by that?" Anthan asked him, still clutching Zelda's note tightly in his grasp.  
" I.. I just mean that, there's no need to trouble him with it, that's all, he has enough to deal with right now. And besides, I don't think he would really care, do you?" Link was a little doubtful that his choice of words and arguments would sway Anthan's mind.  
" Have you been to see the King since you've been in the Castle Realm? Do you even have any idea how hard he and Commander Idien searched for you?!" Anthan asked. Link had no reply, this question seemed to have nothing to do what he had asked, and he wished Anthan hadn't brought it up. " Six years. That's how long they looked. Six years of nothing but disappointment and heartache. All us soldiers knew how terribly it pained them, the effect showed in everything they did, everything they told us to do.." Anthan said to him. Link was absolutely silent, he felt glued to his seat, and hardly found the nerve to breath. " I was a part of the last search, when Idien rallied all of the soldiers, every last one of us, and combed over all of Hyrule. It lasted ten days, and when Idien and the King were completely convinced that either you had disappeared into thin air or had been killed the day of the battle and by now you had been long gone… we went home." Anthan finished, and stared at Link with terribly angry, but incredibly loving eyes. " So now you ask me, does he really care?.." He said, his voice now quieter and softer. Link said nothing, he felt terrible. How could he have been so discerning? But how could he have known that he held such meaning to the King? He had never even met him. " Of course he does.." Anthan said after a moment. Through the silence of the house, Link heard Nifera sniffle and he looked over to her to see her wipe her eyes. He hated what he had just done, and how the looks on all of their faces mad him feel. The way Bomber held his head down in uneasiness to his fathers anger and his mothers sadness.  
"…I'm sorry.." Link finally said. Nifera slowly stood up and walked over to him, gently grabbed both of his shoulders and stood him up. She wrapped her comforting arms around him and rubbed his back tenderly.  
" it's alright, it's not your fault.." She said. Bomber walked over to them and crowded his arms between Link and his mother to clasp them around Link's waist. Link felt very awkward for the almost minute that it lasted. Nifera let him go, put her hand on his shoulder and walked over to her husband. Bomber continued to squeeze Links middle, with no sign of letting go any time soon. " Anthan, I think we should let him go.." Nifera said to the still brooding man as he stood in confused thought. Link looked up at them in anticipation and surprise. Anthan gazed back at him with a look of reluctance to agree with his wife. He stood and tumbled this thought in his mind for another minute while Bomber continued his attempt at cutting Link's legs off with his constricting death hug.  
" I.." Anthan began, he didn't quite know how to word this, he looked at Zelda's letter in his hands. He knew that Zelda, young as she may be, was still the crown Princess, and had almost as much authority over this land as the King himself. He couldn't go against her orders, however negatively they pushed against his own desires. He would have to allow Link to enter the mountain, he could not stop him. He breathed out an upset sigh. " I wish you would reconsider what you are about to do.." He said to him. " I wish you wouldn't do this.."  
" You shouldn't worry, I'm sure the Goron's wont harm him, and there haven't been any eruptions in almost two days. But even if there were, the boy has a shield, I'm sure he'll be fine." Nifera tried to reassure him.  
" An eight pound shield wont stop a two ton molten boulder.." Anthan said to her. Nifera quietly gasped and gave her husband a look of shock at what he just said. " I'm sorry, but it's true! That mountain is probably one of the most dangerous places in all of Hyrule right now!" This was all Link needed, to hear yet more about how terrible, deadly, and horrifying the place he was about to enter was.  
" If you're under royal orders, then I cant stop you." Anthan said justly to Link. " But I'm not going to encourage you, or try to soften the appearance or description of that place. I wont lie to you, and I am most definitely not going to help you kill yourself." He said. Link nodded solemnly, he expected this.  
" Alright, I understand.." he replied.  
" So you're going then, are you? There's nothing we can say that will make you change your mind?" Nifera asked. Link shook his head no, and Nifera sighed.  
"NO LINK!" Bomber yelled, clenching his tiny arms even tighter around Link's waist. " I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO!" He whined " You'll get's a-squashed by a big rock if you go's up there!"  
" No I wont, not if I'm careful." Link said to the weeping boy. Bomber looked up at him tearfully.  
" B-but what about's the Goron's? aren't you a-scared of them?"  
" No way, don't you remember? I can scare anything, they wont bother me, don't worry little brother." Link smiled at the little boy. Bomber sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve.  
" Yeah, hee hee, I remembers. You're really scary, those Goron's better look's out for you!" Bomber smiled and stepped back from Link.  
" Alright.." Anthan sighed and handed Link Zelda's note. " You better be off, it's a long hike to the Goron's city. If you have any hope of arriving before it gets too dark, you better go now." He said, and turned to open the door. Link nodded and followed, along with Nifera and Bomber. The air outside was damp and chilly, the sun still partially behind the hill beside the slowly spinning windmill. It was still quite early, and the shadow of the western hills and the towering windmill stretched across the dark green carpet of the Village floor below them. The grass at their feet sparkled with dew, and the cool steam rose from the nearby rooftops like thin wisps of smoke and disappeared into the golden rays of the still rising sun. The village was quite accept for the ongoing construction below the hill, the peacefulness of it all made Link not want to venture up into the dry, barren, roughness of Death Mountain towering over them like a monster. The door shut behind Bomber as he stepped onto the grass behind them. He shivered and clasped his mothers warm hand. Link looked over towards the Mountain gate and the guard standing beside it.  
" Good morning again, Jaymor." Anthan called to the man.  
" Hi mister Jaymor!" Bomber waved to him also. The guard smiled and waved back at them.  
" Morning, folks! Beautiful day, aint it?" Jaymor said cheerfully.  
" Alright, lets go. I can take you a ways pass the gate to avoid confronting Jaymor, but after that you're on your own." Anthan said to Link quietly as Link stepped beside him. He and Anthan began to walk up the steps in front of them and to the gate. Bomber picked up his frozen feet and tried to follow, but Nifera grabbed his hand and stopped him. Link looked back at the boy, who, yet for Link's attempted reassuring words, was still worried that Link might not ever come back. Link smiled and waved back at him.  
" I'll see you in a while!" He said. Bomber waved back solemnly.  
" Bye, Link.." He said. Nifera held her sons shoulders comfortingly and waved goodbye to Link as well. Link turned and continued up the stairs with Anthan to begin his quest up the Mountain.

The Castle Town Market was as busy as ever on a warm autumn day. The rain of the day before was almost totally unnoticeable except for the small puddles in the cracks of the stones and the crystal drops falling from the trees and rooftops all around them. The only thing different about this particular day was the occasional group of soldiers that would patrol up and down the cobble stoned square and through the alleys every now and then. Idien had taken the day off and put Brontas in charge of the shop while he, Talon, and Malon sat in an outdoor café dear the entrance to the market. He would nod at the soldiers as they walked pass them, in an attempt to reassure the obviously worried men. But he himself wasn't quite as assured as he hoped his officers would think, he sat leaned back in his chair facing sideways to the small round table and tapped his butter knife slowly on the smooth blue cloth. All around them people hurried about, Idien hoped that none of them would get worked up about him looking so down and troubled.  
" The situation up in the castle has gone for the worse, I fear.." Idien said to Talon, who had taken a sip of his coffee and milk latte and the evidence dripped from his bushy mustache. He wiped his face on his sleeve and set his cup down.  
" That guy from the Desert, you really think Link was right about him?" He asked. Malon looked from her father to the Commander, she could see that they were both troubled, and could sense that something was going on, something bad. Idien sighed.  
" I think he is. From what I hear, that guy has been stirring up delicate subjects with the King, and he is worried for the Princess."  
" What about her?" Malon butted in. Idien stopped thumping the metal knife for a moment and looked at her.  
" The Gerudo man, Ganondorf, it seems that he has taken quite a disliking to her. No matter when or where he and the King meet to discuss his complaints, he demands she be taken out of the room before he will say a word." Idien explained.  
" why do you think he doesn't like her? Is she mean to him?" Malon wondered.  
" No, but I do know that she doesn't like him at all either. I don't blame her, the guy obviously hates the monarchy that the land has been ruled under for the pass ten years. His whole reason for traveling to the Castle was to complain that the King doesn't care enough about Gerudo Valley and its inhabitants. Its my thought that he doesn't really want the King to care, but his anger and pure dislike towards him lead him here just to put more troubles on the Kings mind." Idien sighed again and Malon silently grasped her cup of apple juice in front of her and took a sip in thought.  
" So, why has he stayed for so long? He should have been out of here days ago." Talon asked with a suspicious squint of his eyes.  
" I was wondering that myself. I haven't discussed this with the King, but to me the man seems dangerous. If what Link told me about him is true, he has more than just social complaints on his agenda." They were all silent for a moment, and Malon turned her head to look behind her. High above the town buildings and foothills was Death Mountain, where she knew somewhere near it, was Link. Suddenly, as she gazed blankly at the mountain, she saw a small, dark figure standing under a shady tree by the stairs to the Temple of Time. She gasped and looked straight at the person, she thought it looked like Dink. For a moment she smiled with delight, but there was nothing there, just the dark brown trunk of the tall tree shaded by the coloring leaves. She let out a breath of disappointment as she turned back around and held her head down. Idien and Talon both had the idea of what was troubling her. Dink had been missing for more than two days, and only she and Link seemed to be that worried. She tried not to think of it too much, and attempted to comfort herself with the thought that maybe Link had already found him. This idea didn't really help, as hard as she tried to make it.  
" So.. What of this boy, Dink? I hear he's been missing for almost three days." Idien asked. Malon perked up a little and looked up at him.  
" Yes, he must have ran off somewhere in the middle of the night. Link and Malon here looked for him as much as they could yesterday.." Talon replied. " I-I just don't know about him, Idien. He seemed a little.. Off.." Talon was very careful about his choice of words around his ten year old daughter. Idien gave him an odd look. " If you had met him, you'd understand. He was just so,.. It was almost as if.. Just being around him made you feel so.. Strange.. And not to mention the fact that in appearance, he and Link were almost identical, that was one of the strangest parts about him."  
" Identical?.. Now how could that be? You mean like, he was dressed to purposely look like him?"  
" No. I mean they were almost exactly the same! Dink was just colored differently." Idien thought for a moment, it wasn't possible, or even probable that this boy could be Link's twin.. There was no way.  
" hmm.." Idien said after a minute. " well, I cant wait to meet this kid, lets hope we find him.." Malon could tell that Idien wasn't hoping to find him for a good reason, he seemed almost afraid for some reason. She pretended not to notice and took another sip of her juice.

Link had been gone for three days, in that time, Bomber had not left his chair by the window in the kitchen facing the Mountain gate, but to eat, sleep, and relieve himself. He hardly said a word to either of his parents, and every now and then, would think that he saw Link's small, green figure walking slowly around the rocky bend of Death Mountain Trail.  
" Bomber, honey, be patient. He'll come back, don't worry." Nifera said to her son as he stared silently out the window. It was late afternoon on the third day, and Nifera, for her patience and assuredness that Link was going to be alright and that they had done the right thing in letting him go, was getting worried herself. Anthan was on guard duty, and a few times that day, Bomber had seen his father glance behind him through the bars of the gate searching for Link as well. Bomber sighed, but didn't move from his spot.

Link walked slowly down the steep, rugged trail of the mountain, stepping over small rocks and avoiding the big ones that sometimes looked a little unstable. He had been right in thinking that this task was going to be very difficult. At first, the Gorons scared him a little, but surprisingly, none of them were really aggressive. Actually, most of the ones he met were quite friendly, but he did almost get knocked off a cliff by Dunter, the Goron that Idien had warned him about. And at first, Darunia didn't believe Link when he had told him that he was a Royal Messenger, and became very angry at the King for treating him, his sworn brother, so unserious. But somehow, Link wasn't quite sure how, Darunia calmed down and made him a deal. In return for the stone, Link had to reopen Dodongo's cavern and rid it of the beast guardian that had been placed inside by, as Darunia had confirmed Link's fears, Ganondorf. He had blocked the cavern with a giant boulder, and put the monster inside to insure that the Gorons would fear to enter even if it was to be opened somehow. Link had the hardest challenge yet in finding a way to open the cave, and not to mention, facing that terrible beast. He found it odd, but very helpful, that one of the main crops grown by the Gorons was the Bomb Flower, a plant that explodes with incredible force soon after being picked. It was quite simple, but very dangerous after Link had discovered this flower, to blast the boulder out of the opening. Darunia was as happy as he had ever been when Link had miraculously accomplished the task set before him, and admitted feeling quite stupid in not thinking of the Bomb Flower in the first place. He willingly handed over the Sacred Stone of Fire to Link, without even asking why. And on top of that, for all his happiness and gratitude towards Link, had made him his Sworn Brother also. Link had done what Zelda had asked and had obtained the Gorons Ruby, the sacred stone of fire. The Kokiri Emerald and the Goron's ruby weighed heavy in the bag he now kept them in as he stepped down the dirt trail. It was a warm day, and he was happy to now be going back to Kakariko Village. He rounded a bend in the trail and saw the corner of the stone and metal gate leading back into the Village. He slowed his pace to a silent creep and edged himself as close as he could to the dirt wall of the path, he wanted to surprise them. Stopping at the edge of the bend that would leave him right behind the gate, he peeked his head out from the wall took a quick look around. Anthan still stood at the gate, solemnly and quietly guarding the tall, barred barrier. Link looked beyond the gate to the little brick house below. He could see the window that Bomber had been keeping a look out of. Coincidently, Bomber had let his guard down to change out of his dirty clothes that he had spilled milk on only a minute ago. Link smiled and stepped quietly behind the gate, accidentally moving some loose gravel as he went. He winced at the noise he made and quickly flattened himself against the stone gate, making sure not to make any more noise. But it was already too late.  
" Who's there?! Show yourself!" Anthan said loudly, and peaked through the bars to look around. He couldn't see Link presses against the stone. " …Link? Is that you?" He asked as he continued to scope the trail. Link sighed and stepped out from his hiding place.  
" good afternoon!" Link said with a smile. Anthan's face brightened into a very happy grin and he quickly opened the gate.  
" Link! It is you! My, you're alright!" Anthan said. " Wait till Bomber and Nifera hear, they've been worried beyond words!" Link stepped onto the grass and Anthan shut the gate behind him. " I may have regretted letting you go up there by yourself, but it seems that you've taken good care of yourself. I was a little worried when that eruption hit yesterday morning, though.." the guard explained.  
" Oh it wasn't so bad. It was just a small one, only a few rocks even made it down to the trail." Link said.  
" Oh that's great, hey, why don't you go inside and surprise them, and we can hear everything when I get off in about, lets see, twenty minutes" Anthan smiled. Link nodded and turned to walk down the steps to the house. " and Link.." Anthan called to him. Link turned around to face him again. " You're one brave, reckless young swordsman.. But I'm as glad as ever that you're back in one piece." Anthan seemed a little skeptical at Link's seemingly harmless hike up Death Mountain and the fact that nothing bad had happened at all. Link nodded again and turned back to the house. The Village had hardly changed since he had left. The construction site was almost exactly the same as it was when he had left, and the crazy cuccoo lady was still afraid to catch her rebellious fowl, which less to his surprise were still running wild around the Village. He was happy to be back, and even though he knew he would have to leave again soon, he thought he would try to delay the next venture as long as possible.  
" LINK!" Link heard the shrill and excited voice of the young boy as he opened the front door of the house to see Bomber just exit his room. Link shut the door behind him just in time to free his hands as Bomber bolted to him and plastered his arms around his waist yet again.  
".. Link?" Nifera had been in the kitchen, from which a wonderful odor was wafting out of. It reminded Link of the first time he had met Nifera, when she had come from the kitchen wiping her wet hands with a white towel and wondering who had entered her house. " Link! Oh my, it is you!" She smiled happily and also put her free arm around his head as she kissed the top of it. They both released him, and Link, for all his gladness of their caring, was quite grateful to be free again. " How was your trip?"  
" Yeah! Did you fights any monsters?! Or, or, scare any Gorons?!"  
" Oh, they were completely terrified of me! The Gorons were too!" Link exclaimed. Bombers eyes widened and he grinned I big, partially toothless smile as they all laughed.  
" Heh, I told you's mommy! I told you's Link was gonna be alright!" Nifera rolled her eyes with a smile and ushered Link inside.  
" Wonderful, Link! It's so refreshing to see that you're back safe! Now, come in and we'll get you something good to eat!" She said as they all walked into the kitchen. Suddenly they heard a loud cry from outside.  
" ATTACK! ATTACK! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" It was Anthan. Nifera ran to the window near the front door and looked out, Bomber grabbed a hold of Links arm with a terrified gasp as his mother gaped out the small window at what was going on. She gasped and ran back to them.  
" Bomber, come here! Stay close to me and don't go near the windows!" She said as she grasped the little boys hands and held him close to her.  
" Mommy! What's going on, mommy?!" Bomber started to cry as she pushed him and Link into the sitting room. She didn't tell him, and instead reached out and tried to get hold of Link to keep him safe as well, but before she could even touch him, he was headed for the door. " LINK!.." She yelled, but he was already outside with the door slammed behind him. What stood at the entrance to the Mountain Trail was something that made his heart skip a beat, and before he even thought twice about it, he had drawn his sword and shield and ran to the aid of the four guards fighting off the attacker. It was the terrible King Dodongo, a giant, fire breathing lizard monster clad in a thick coat of rock hard skin, the terror that Link had thought he had soundly defeated in the depths of Dodongo's Cavern and locked away in a bed of hardened lava. But there he stood, blood dripping from the side of his immense head and horribly burnt patches of skin covering almost his entire body. Anthan, Jaymor, and the other two soldiers tried to keep him at bay with their long spears, forming a tiny, loose wall in front of the creature and jabbing at him with all their might whenever he tried to step closer. The monster was furious, and wildly swung his large limbs and tail in every direction, sending what was left of the now demolished Mountain gate flying everywhere. Anthan dashed forward and stabbed him through a thin spot in his armor under his chin. The monster roared deafeningly and spewed a column of flame more than twenty feet into the air. Link skidded to a halt right beside the other three men as Anthan tried to loosen his spear from the Dodongo's throat, but it was stuck. He tugged as hard as he could on the weapon, franticly lurching backwards with all his might in a desperate attempt to quickly get away from the beast. Jaymor ran to assist his friend and dropped his own spear beside him, grasping Anthan's in front of him. King Dodongo wasn't about to let them away so easily. He brought back his gigantic arm and swung at the struggling men with all his strength. Anthan and Jaymor were sent flying into the hard, red dirt wall beside them and struck it with such terrible force, Link was sure that they were dead. He could barely see the two through the thick cloud of dust that had been suspended into the air, and he and the remaining two men, unfortunately, did not have any time to find out whether they were alive or not. The monster had already recovered from the attack, and ripped out the spear protruding from his massive neck. His attention now turned to them, and as they readied for the worse, his and Link's eyes suddenly met. King Dodongo's eyes widened and he snarled lividly, his disgusting, yellow, blood stained teeth bared tightly as sweltering smoke blasted from his nostrils. The other two men hadn't even noticed Link standing there until now. They gasped and jumped out in front of him.  
" Get back, boy!" one of them turned to him and yelled.  
" I'm not going anywhere! L-LOOK OUT!" Link raised his sword, the man turned back to face the monster just in time to be flung to the side by the back of his arm. King Dodongo no longer cared to bother with the soldiers or the village, he had found what he had come for. He slowly stepped towards Link, his anger seemed almost to pour from his piercing eyes. Link had been the one that had imprisoned him in that molten pond hundreds of feet below the surface of the Earth, and it was Link whom the beast was going to take his revenge on. With three soldiers lying motionless around him in the dust and rubble of the Mountain gate, and one soldier barely able to stay conscious, Link was left alone to face this demon and keep the villagers safe. Suddenly the beast launched forward at him, his lethal jaws opened wide in attempt to snatch his small opponent in one gulp. Link jumped to the side and rolled out of his way, causing him to land clumsily on his stomach in surprise. Link regained his balance and held his sword with both hands. All of a sudden, he felt the hilt become warmer as he held it, as if it had been lying next to a warm fire for an hour. He looked down at the sword and almost dropped it when he saw what was happening. The entire blade was glowing in a green aura of flame-like light that caused the emerald on its hilt to shine uncontrollably and sent a rush of power into his arms. He felt no fear, and lunged forward to attack the still distracted Dodongo, plunging the shimmering blade into his side. There was a blast of light that exploded from the entry point as Link quickly withdrew the sword and King Dodongo unleashed a gut-wrenching howl. Link took a step back away from him as he stood up slowly, lifting himself onto his legs one by one and looking side to side for his enemy. He just stood there for a moment, keeping totally still but for his underbelly which rose and fell with every weak breath. He had been pretending not to notice Link out of the corner of his eye, and suddenly slid his tree-like tail across the ground where Link had been standing. Link had no time to react, and the tail struck his legs with incredible force, knocking him backwards onto his back and sending the Kokiri Sword flying out of his hands. Link gasped and gritted his teeth, his left leg gashed and bruised by King Dodongo's jagged skin. The monster turned himself around and faced Link lying on the ground, weaponless and un able to stand. Link helplessly glanced over to his disarmed sword at least ten feet away from him, it had now stopped glowing. Was this it? he thought. Was King Dodongo going to finish him off for good? He closed his eyes and readied for the worse. Suddenly King Dodongo let out yet another ear splitting shriek, Link opened his eyes to see what had happened, but before he could see who had saved him, the beast fell to the ground in front of him with a lifeless thud. Link was shocked, and looked around to see if one of the soldiers had gotten up and struck him from behind, but all four of them were still lying motionless on the ground. He didn't know what to think. Who had finished the beast off? There was no way that what little damage Link had done had killed him. Everything was now very silent, but he could hear the doors of a few houses shut behind some of the villagers who had now begun to emerge from the safety of their buildings. Some of the carpenters had even hidden in a few partially empty crates of bricks around the construction site, and they groaned stiffly as they flopped out of them. Link sat up and tried to inch his way onto his feet, disarming his soot covered shield and setting it carefully onto the ground beside him. Putting all of his weight onto his right leg, he could feel his blood slowly rolling down his skin and into his boot. He didn't really care about his leg now, he just wanted to make sure Anthan, Jaymor, and the other two soldiers were all right. Nifera and Bomber were still huddled together on the floor of the sitting room, and even though everything had gone silent, Nifera wanted to be sure before she let her son go anywhere.  
" NIFERA!" Link shouted to her from outside. She jolted her head up and looked towards where Link's voice had come, and quickly stood up. Bomber didn't dare let go of his mother, he still wasn't convinced that everything was sound, and Link's unsettling yell for the woman's aid didn't help that fact. Nifera and Bomber rushed to the door and she threw it open. " Nifera, I need help! Please, don't let Bomber come outside!" Nifera gasped and almost fainted as she saw the massive, lifeless body of King Dodongo lying next to her house, and almost did so again when she saw her husband included with the other motionless soldiers lying next to the defeated beast.  
" Bomber, get back inside, now! And shut the door quickly!" she said, ushering the worried and crying child back into the house. There was no telling what would happened if Bomber saw what was going on, Link and Nifera didn't want to take a chance finding out.  
" mommy! What happened to Link and Daddy?! Mommy!" Bomber cried loudly as Nifera shut the door in front of him and ran to Link, behind her, she could still hear the desperate cries from her terrified son inside the house. She fell to her knees at Anthan's side and put her hand on his face, he and Jaymor still weren't moving.  
" I-I don't know what to do.. Are they.. Are they.. Gone?" Link asked her. Anthan's armor was severely dented and broken in several places, and blood coated the side of his face. Jaymor was no better off, his arm was visibly broken and from the blood dripping from his mouth, it looked as if he had lost a few teeth.  
"..no." Nifera finally said after feeling their chests for breathing. Link sighed with relief, but knew that even though they were alive, their injuries were still severe.  
" They need to be inside and tended to, we need more help to carry them."  
" I can help you with that.." They turned around to see one of the battered and dirty soldiers standing behind them. " Soldier number 284, Linny, at your service, ma'am." the soldier bowed to her. Nifera stood up and walked to him.  
" Are you sure? You don't look much better yourself.."  
" I'll be fine, don't you worry about me. Me injuries be not as bad as they may look, Ma'am. Now, lets get 'em out o' this frigid air, don'tcha say?" He said to her, and walked over to Anthan and Jaymor. " Oh, and my friend Fenton over there's knocked out cold, now I'm pretty sure as he's alright, he just need's a bit o' shake in' an maybe some water splashed on his face." Linny pointed to the unconscious guard lying on the ground beside the dead Dodongo, and Nifera walked over to him to try and awaken him. Linny kneeled down next to Anthan, Link, and Jaymor to remove the soldiers heavy armor and ready them to be carried. " I do believe this belongs to you.." Linny handed Link the Kokiri Sword, he took it and slid it back into it's sheath. " Was that you young lad, that killed the beast?" Linny asked him. He glanced over at the lifeless monster lying defeated with piles of broken stone scattered all around.  
"..no, it wasn't me.."  
" Well, who was it then? There be no other soldiers or other brave souls as willing as you or I to confront anything other than a cow or chicken in this here village." Linny continued to un strap Anthan's armor as they spoke. " An he's got a mighty bad stab wound on the back o' his neck, no one other than you here's got a sword, not to mention, a sword small enough to make such a tiny wound." Link didn't know what to say, he had no idea who had saved them. Suddenly he began to feel dizzy and weak, he almost fell over on Jaymor but caught himself before he landed. Linny stopped what he was doing and helped Link regain his balance, just now noticing the terrible slice on his leg. " You're bleed in' out, boy!" he said. Nifera walked back over to them, helping Fenton, who was still a little out of it, limp across the grass, she saw Linny holding Link up from falling forward.  
" What is it? What's wrong with Link?"  
" He's got a mighty nasty cut on his leg, an he's bleed in' bad. If he don't get somethin' to stop it now, there'll be nuthin' left to stop!"  
" No, don't worry about me.. Help Anthan.." Link spoke without even knowing what he was saying. He knew he couldn't just let himself bleed to death, what about Dink? He already knew that because of his decision to take on King Dodongo, that Dink was also somewhere out there bleeding to death. This thought terrified Link even worse than the thought of his own death, but what could he do about it now? "..I'm.. sorry, Dink.." Link said weakly.  
" What's he talk in' about?! He don't know what he's say in'! hurry and get him inside, I'll tend to these guys. Go on!" Linny stood up and carefully lifted Link off the ground. Nifera let Fenton go and took Link from him, holding him gently in her arms. Linny grabbed Fenton's arm as Nifera hurried down the stone stairs to her house.  
" Bomber, open the door for mommy!" she said as she reached the front door. Bomber opened the door quickly and gasped as his mother came rushing in carrying Link. " please get mommy some clean towels from the closet in Mommy and Daddy's room!" She said as she lay Link on the couch in the sitting room. Bomber didn't move, he stood motionless in the middle of the room starring terrified at Link's bleeding leg. " Quickly, baby!" Nifera shouted. Bomber suddenly burst out crying uncontrollably. Nifera stood up and ran to her son, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and trying to calm him down. " Honey, everything is going to be alright, but I need you to be a big boy for me, ok?" Bomber nodded. " Link will be ok, but he needs his little brother to help him now." She told him.  
" ..OK.." Bomber wiped his nose, ran to his parents room, and came back with an armload of clean towels. He handed them to his mother and kneeled down next to her.


	7. Secrets in the Hylian Ranks

CHAPTER 7  
Secrets of the Hylian Ranks

In Hyrule, any news could spread relatively quickly considering the size of the realm and the unreliability of the recently established postal system. Depending on what had happened, where it happened, who was involved, and the distance from where it happened to the place where the news was traveling, something big could probably be known by more than half of Hyrule within a day. Something like what had just gone on up in the peacefully secluded Village of Kakariko which concerned a terrible mountain beast, the lives of four of the Kings soldiers, and one young boy, could reach its closest neighbor Castle Town within two hours. Which is just what it had done on that day.  
" They say the boy slew the mighty beast single handedly!" one peddler told a large crowd. " with nothing but a dagger and sheer courage!"  
" That's not what I heard! I heard the monster had killed the four soldiers and wounded the boy so that he bled to death!"  
" But then how do you explain that the monster is now dead?"  
" I was told by my friend who lives near the mountain gate, that the soldiers had been cast aside by the beast who then went for the boy. He didn't even care about the soldiers! He wanted the boy dead! The last she saw of him, her neighbor was carrying him into her house, he must have been pretty hurt!"  
" But that still doesn't explain how the beast was killed!" the crowd continued this argument for at least an hour before things began to get out of hand. Some people started yelling loudly, insisting that their version's were the truthful ones and any others were nothing but folly. One man became so angry that he threw his fist into another man's face, basically breaking his nose and causing him to stumble backwards. Idien had heard the rabble from up in his loft above his shop and had come to settle the dispute. He caught the man before he fell to the ground and stood him back up.  
" C-Commander!.." sputtered the man who had landed the punch. The crowd very quickly fell silent and the peddler slid down below his booth in attempt to go unnoticed.  
" What is the problem here?! Have you all lost your senses?!" Idien asked them. No one spoke. " I want to know what this is about, someone speak up!" Idien crossed his arms and stood firm, he wasn't going anywhere until he knew what had caused such a ruckus. The peddler slowly stood up from behind his counter and looked around at the group. He was actually the one that had ultimately started this, um, discussion.  
" Eh.. We were just discussing the news of what has happened up in Kakariko, Commander, sir.." The peddler spoke, and the crowd cleared a way so that Idien could see him. Idien uncrossed his arms and strode quickly up to the man.  
" Kakariko? What has happened?" He said, sounding very visibly and desprately concerned.  
" Well, um, there seems to have been an attack on the village by a ferocious Mountain beast. You know, those fire breathing lizards called Dodongo's? yeah, yeah, only this one was real big! A monster of the deep, they say!" The peddler was becoming quite excited over his story. " Yeah, anyway-"  
" The beast killed four soldiers and a young boy!" someone shouted out from the crowd behind them. Suddenly the entire bunch became worked up again, shouting and moving about, Idien turned around to face them all.  
" QUIET!" He yelled, everybody clamped their mouthes shut again, getting the Commander angry wasn't something they thought of as a good idea. Idien took a deep breath to calm down, looking all around him at the silent crowd to assure that they stayed that way. Some of the nearby shop owners had stopped what they were doing and were gazing curiously at what was going on. Idien saw Brontas step slowly behind the wall of worked-up citizens, he had seen the instability of these people that Idien had come to confront alone, and came to back him up should anything get out of hand. The large man towered over the people who were clueless to his presence and nodded assuredly at Idien as he crossed his arms. Idien nodded back at him. " Now then.." Idien began again. " If there is anyone here that was actually present in Kakariko at the time of the attack, they are to be the only ones to speak! We are all adults, do not make me treat you like school children!" He explained loud and clear. " I want the truth, I want to know everything that went on up there, every last detail! Now were any of you in Kakariko at the time?!" No one spoke for a while after Idien had gone silent.  
" Um, sir..?" a tall, black-haired woman standing in the front of the crowd quietly addressed him, slightly and cautiously raising her hand…" I was."

It was only slightly after noon on that day, but Talon was still asleep, and totally cluless about the goings on in the market below. Talon and Malon had both been staying in town with Idien for the past four nights. Even though the current state of the affairs in the Castle were now quite threatening and something bad could befall Castle Town any day now, they were both still concerned about Link and Dink. Talon insisted on staying in town until they both turned up safe, and Idien had been very adamant about not making Talon pay for a room at the town Inn. The loft of the blacksmith shop was quite warm and cozy for the frigidness of the autumn weather outside, and Malon sat kneeled on her bed by the window, looking out at Idien and Brontas retaining the rabble of men and women, and trying as hard as she could to hear what they were saying. After Idien had yelled for them all to be quiet, all talk had been very silent. Malon stopped her attempt at eavesdropping after only a few minutes of hearing nothing but quite talk, and decided to just sit silently on her bed until Idien returned. Not ten minutes passed, and she heard his hard, fast steps quickly climbing the stairs up to the loft. She hardly had time to sit up before he burst through the door and rushed inside, slamming the door behind him. Talon instantly awoke with a jolt and clumsily flopped out of his bed and onto the floor.  
"What?! What's going on?!" Talon said nervously as he quickly sat himself up on the floor and propped himself up against the bed behind him. Idien stood in the center of the room, breathing heavily and clearly disturbed by what was on his mind. Malon stared at him, silently and suspensively waiting for him to say something, anything, she wished this awful silence would end.  
" I've just received word from Kakariko. There's been an attack on the village" He finally told them. Malon shot out of her bed and rushed to Idien, grabbing hold of his arm and clasping it tightly.  
" A-and what about Link?…" Idien looked down at at her for a moment and kneeled down to her level, all the while Talon sat breathlessly awaiting the answer to this question that he had found himself unable to ask.  
" He was hurt while aiding four of the village soldiers fend off the attacker. It was a Dodongo, a monstrous one. The Gorons and the people of the Village called him King Dodongo…" Idien told them.  
" My god.. Just the usual Dodongos of the mountain are a fright to behold.. Is he alright?" Talon asked, finally standing himself up.  
" He didn't fare too well, but his injuries are far less severe those of two soldiers that were also involved. Link sustained a bad leg injury and was rushed into a house. The two soldiers were thrown into a wall and were battered and broken from head to toe."  
"S-so Link, he helped these soldiers, did they kill it?" Malon tugged on Idien's arm softly.  
" Yes, and from what I hear, Link was quite the hero. He rushed out of the safety of a house to aid the men and never once backed down, not even when he was forced to face the beast alone."  
" Alone?! You mean he killed it all by himself?!" Malon exclaimed excitedly and shook Idiens arm.  
" Now doesn't that just sound like something Darin would have done? Fearless and tough as iron." Talon grinned as he thought about it.  
" Yes it most certainly does. But there's something about the way the beast died, Link actually wasn't the one that killed it." Idien said.  
" He wasn't? well, then who was? One of the other soldiers?" Malon asked.  
" No, all of them were out cold when he finally fell dead. Something happened, something that niether Link nor any of the soldiers had any part in. But no one saw anything, it just fell dead." Idien explained in a tone that suggested he was in deep thought as he spoke.  
" So is Link coming back now? What about his hurt leg? Did they fix it?" Malon wondered. Suddenly, out of the noise of the on-goings down in the square, they heard a loud shout coming from below the window on the streets.  
" Commander Idien!" the man's voice said. All three of them went the the closest window and looked down at him. It was a Field Soldier, he stood next to his grey and spotted horse and held his hand over his eyes to shield them from the bright sun above. He quickly stood up straight and held his hand firm in a salute when Idien reached the window. " Field Soldier number 265, Mero, sir!" he said.  
" Soldier.." Idien saluted him back and Mero continued to shade his eyes.  
" Permission to enter the Commander's quarters, sir!" Mero asked firmly.  
" Granted. Come on up, Mero." Idien waved the man to come up and Mero handed his horses reigns to Brontas as he rushed into the shop. No sooner had he disappeared from view then they had heard a knock on the door. Idien opened it and Mero stumbled inside holding his helmet in his arms. He caught himself and stood up straight, trying to cover up his clumsiness in front of his Commander. Mero was a young soldier, he had only been on the force for three years. He had short dark blonde hair and green eyes, and stood barely eye level with Idien.  
"Sir." Mero gasped between heavy breaths.  
" What's so urgent, soldier?" Idien asked him.  
" I bring news from Kakariko, sir!" he finally said. Talon put his arm around Malon, who held her father's hand in anxiousness to hear what this news was. " All five casualties have been accounted for, sir. Head soldier Anthan has a broken shoulder and has sustained a severe head injury. He is still unconscious. Soldier number 134, Jaymor, has a broken arm, leg, and jaw. He has also two cracked ribs, sir.." Mero explained. Malon's heart began to race and she gasped to hear how terrible these men had fared. Idien and Talon were equally shocked and awaited the rest of Mero's news. " soldier number 284, Linny incurred a sprained arm, but he advanced to aid the others and is doing fine. His comrade, Soldier number 276, Fenton, took a rock to the head and under went a moderate concussion, he is also doing well at the moment, sir." Mero continued. " The forest boy that aided the men was slashed on his left leg and nearly bled to death.." he stopped for a moment and stepped closer to Idien. " Sir.. Did you know that this boy is the former Commander's missing son?!" Mero asked Idien quietly. Idien didn't know why Mero was trying to keep this a secret from Talon and Malon standing behind him.  
" Of course I know! And there's no need to silence yourself from these people, they are the ones that brought him here!" Idien said irritably. Mero quickly stood back and looked a little embarrassed. "Anyway. What about him, how is he doing at the moment?" Idien asked him.  
" oh yeah, uh, the village Shaman has been on the scene for about an hour. The boy's leg is nearly healed and they say he should be up and on the road again before the day is out. Anthan and Jaymor will take a lot longer though, sir. The Shaman said it would take at least a week or more to heal them both." Mero finished.  
" On the road again? Where is he going now?" Malon asked from behind Idien, who turned to look at her.  
" He didn't say, little lady. All he said was that he needed to get a move on quickly." Mero explained to her. " Anyway sir, the beasts body has been taken up into the mountain. The Goron's were kind enough to take it off our hands." Mero smiled. " Will that be all, sir?"  
" That will be all soldier." Idien stated, and Mero saluted him, turned around, and shut the door behind him as he left.

The room was quiet, the door was shut, and no one was to be seen around him. Link slowly awoke to the comforting soletude of Bombers tiny bedroom. Next to him on the night stand was a large saucer full of fresh water and a clean towel. As he sat up in the warm bed he felt a slight twinge in his wounded leg, he winced and reached under the blankets to rub it. He was a little shocked to find that it wasn't bandaged, and there was hardly a bump left where he knew he had been severely gashed. Out of the quiet, the door to his left slowly creaked open and Link saw a curious green eye poking through the crack. Suddenly the door flung open and Bomber came rushing to his side, an enormous smile stretched across his little face.  
" LINK!" He yelled. Link braced himself quickly before the excited child launched himself onto the bed and wrapped his arms around Links shoulders. Through the jumbled mess of flailing arms and flying blankets, he saw Nifera standing in the open doorway smiling at them.  
" Now careful Bomber honey, don't be so rough. And you know you're not supposed to jump on your bed, even when there is someone between you and the mattress." She said in a typical motherly voice. Bomber stopped jumping and instead sat on his knees and sort of bounced in excitement. Nifera walked up to the side of the bed and felt Links forehead. " No fever, that's good. Do you feel alright sweetie?" She asked him.  
" I feel fine." Link told her. " My leg, there's no cut on it anymore. Did that even happen yesterday?" Link wondered.  
" I'm afraid it did. But the good news is thanks to the village Shaman, Rallis, you're pretty much totally healed. You can even get out of bed if you'd like." Nifera told him.  
" Yeah, c'mon Link! I want you to meet someone!" Bomber said excitedly and yanked the blankets off of him. Link shivered and goose bumps began to form all over his skin . He had felt so warm and cozy under the blankets that the cooler air of the bedroom that his bare legs were now exposed to was some what of a shock. Nifera took his hand as he made his way out of the bed and onto the cold wood floor.  
" It doesn't even hurt. Where are my boots?" Link asked happily, anxious to get out of the house.  
" They're in the sitting room by the front door, I'll go get them if you'd like." Nifera smiled.  
" No that's ok, I'll do it. Thanks though." He thanked her and walked quickly out of the room as Bomber sprung from the bed onto the floor and ran after him. As Bomber and Link exited the room and stepped into the small hallway, Link couldn't help but notice the form in Nifera and Anthan's bed. He stopped and looked into the dark room. The curtains were drawn, and Anthan's dented armor lay propped against the wall next to their dresser. He felt a hand on his shoulder as he gazed into the room.  
" He hasn't woken up at all since it happened. Rallis says he wont for another two days, maybe more." Nifera explained solemnly. " Even then, he will not be able to return to his duty as a soldier, his injuries were far too sever. But I count my blessings that he is with us now at all." She smiled sadly down at him and rubbed his shoulder. " And you too." She told him and gave him a light hug. " Now you had better go and put your boots on. That child will be here complaining that you're going too slow if you don't show up in the sitting room soon." She said.  
" Yeah, ok." Link replied and with a last look at the heroic downed soldier, he turned and walked away. Nifera stood alone in the doorway gazing solemnly at her husband. Slowly she reached for the handle of the bedroom door and began to pull it shut.  
" Sweet dreams darling." She said softly and quietly shut the door.

Link had been a few minutes later than Bomber in entering the sitting room and getting ready to go outside, but he still ended up having to wait for the seven year old to put on his sandals. It would have taken a lot less time if he hadn't denied his mother the ability of aiding him in the endeavor. After the few minutes of struggling and pulling, the efforts paid off not only in the fact that Bomber now had his sandals on, but the enormous smile and sense of accomplishment etched across the young boys face. They finally exited the house, the fresh air was extremely welcoming even though quite cold. Link at this time wished that he had a giant fluffy coat that covered his entire body but left his face exposed so he could breathe in the crisp autumn air. Standing in the grass below the small flight of stone stairs was Linny, Fenton, a young boy, and another man. Link didn't recognize the man or the boy, but the fact that Bomber called out to them made it obvious that Bomber did.  
" HEY!" He yelled excitedly. Everyone in the group stopped talking and turned their heads towards them and Link could now see the faces of the two newcomers. The man had long dark brown hair tied back with a leather string. His face and his green eyes seemed stern but gentle and a short beard wrapped its way around the bottom half of it. He wore a dark tan coat over a brown tunic, the coat was tied at the waist with a large belt that had a grey and shine less belt buckle. His pants were also brown, just slightly darker than his tunic, and ended as they were tucked into his black, knee length boots.  
They boy that was with him also had green eyes and seemed to resemble him, which was why he was assumed by Link to be the mans son. His hair was also dark brown, and long enough to barely touch his eyebrows if it hadn't been spiked up the way it was. Link noticed that he looked no older than he himself, maybe even perhaps younger than himself, but no younger than eight. He wore a dark blue tunic over a white undershirt and another dark green arm length shirt that he used to cover his hands to keep them warm. His pants matched his long sleeved shirt, and like his fathers, also ended in a pair of boots. His however were brown.  
" Oi, there he is!" Linny said happily as he waved them both down. He and Bomber trotted down the stairs and onto their level. " There be the young daredevil! Back from the mend I see! Gave us quite a scare you did there master Link!" Linny said as they both stopped and joined the circle.  
" Really I don't see why. I felt fine!" Link stated matter-of-factly. The whole group began to laugh.  
" What a champ you are son." Linny patted him on the shoulder.  
" My big brother Link is real tough and scary! No stupid little cut could kill's him!" Bomber said proudly and almost seemed a little aggravated. This time it was not only a laugh that was heard, but a roar of laughter that erupted from every man there.  
" I believe you may be right little man." Fenton said, wiping a tear from his face.  
" Ai, this young lad here saved the lot of us. Kakariko may've been joinin' the great ruins of Hyrule were it not for him." Linny said. "But alas, in the time before the beast was slain he managed to take out some o' the best of us." He paused. The laughter ceased and all was silent. " Those brave soldiers may yet be alive but neither of them will ever return to their sworn duties as soldiers to the King. Which is why I sent for master Sorell here. I had hoped for two able bodied soldiers but the Western Provinces it seems have use for most of them." Link perked up a little. A soldier all the way from the Western Provinces? What things he must've seen, Link thought. " Master Link, I would like you to meet Sorell, he'll be taking Anthan's place as head guard." Link stepped forward and grasped the tall mans hand that he had held out and shook it firmly.  
" Hello Link, my name's Sorell. This lad here is my son Terrian, I've been told he's about your age." Sorell smiled at him and stepped back. His son took a step forward and also shook Links hand. Link could tell he was the son of a soldier by the firmness of his grip and the fact that he looked him straight in the eye as he spoke.  
" Hi, I'm Terrian. I'm nine, that makes me a year younger than you and two years older than Bomber." He grinned. Bomber seemed cross.  
" You know you don't have to keeps saying that every time you see's me, Terrian." Bomber crossed his arms and huffed as he scrunched his eyebrows together, pursed his lips, and looked sternly up at Terrian. Terrian stepped closer to Link and spoke quietly to him.  
" I only do it because I just love to see the face he makes when he hears it." He and Link both laughed. Bomber did not.  
" Hey now be nice to the little lad there you two." Linny said to the two older boys.  
" Yes sir." They both replied.  
" We were just playing with you, Bomber. Come on lets go do something." Terrian apologized to Bomber, who smiled and forgot all about it at Terrians notion. " May I sir?" Terrian asked his father, who nodded and the three boys rushed off and down the stairs to the lowest level of the village.  
" Say Link, where are you from anyway?" Terrian asked as they reached the small tree in the center of the area near the village entrance. " Wait let me guess. The Forest, right?" He asked.  
" Yeah how'd you guess?" Link asked him.  
" I can guess where everyone's from just be looking at their clothes. It's a natural talent. I'm full of natural talent, you know." Terrian stated quite boldly. Bomber looked at him funny. " Hey and I've also been meaning to ask you, what's the deal with the weaponry? Are you planning to go to war?" Terrian asked with a sarcastic grin.  
" If it comes down to it maybe. I'm hoping it wont." Link said.  
" Oh you're talking about that guy Ganondorf up in the Castle, arent you? That guy's a joke. He wouldn't start anything."  
" He already has." Link told him. The whole while they talked Bomber walked around with his hands held behind his back kicking the ground and waiting patiently for them to stop talking and play with him.  
" Yeah anyway, that sword is really neato, can I try it?" Terrian asked. He didn't want to start an argument. Link was hesitant. After all, it wasn't just any neato sword, it was a sacred relic.  
" Hey don't worry, I'm not going to snap it in half, I know how to use a sword." Terrian assured him. Link withdrew the blade from its sheath and held it out for him. Terrian was thrilled.  
" Wow, are those real emeralds? That's awesome. And that's the Sacred Stone of the Forest! This sword must really be something, hu?" Terrian held the sword out and flipped it around. All of a sudden he began to jump around, swinging the sword and slicing the tree behind him with every step he took. After a few swings he stopped and admired his work in the bark of the tree as he handed the sword back to Link.  
" Wow Terrian! Yer really good!" Bomber was in total awe as he gawked at the markings in the tree.  
" Not too bad if I do say so myself." Terrian said.  
" Not too bad at all." Link agreed. Terrian had made a perfect Triforce symbol in the trees bark with the cuts of the blade. Not a slice out of place, three perfect triangles. "Have you ever used your skills in a fight? You definitely have the skills of a good fighter." Link asked him. Terrian sighed and shook his head.  
" No, father hasn't let me into a real fight yet. He said I'm too young." He said sadly.  
" Nuh uh! Yer almost as old as Link! And Link killed a lizard!" Terrian and Link both burst out laughing.  
" It was a little bit bigger than a lizard, Bomber!" Link laughed.  
" Yeah, just a little." Terrian slapped his knee and gasped for breath as he laughed. " But still, you're right. I think I'm old enough, but father doesn't." They both stopped laughing. " You're so lucky not to have anyone to tell you what to do.." Terrian said to Link, catching himself afterwards though, maybe he shouldn't go there, he thought. " But father wont even let me have a sword of my own, he thinks I'd hurt someone like he did.." Terrian was beginning to seem angry.  
" Yer daddy hurt someone?" Bomber asked. Terrian said nothing, almost trying to fight back tears.  
" It was a long time ago…" He finally said. " My older brother, it was five years ago, I was only four." He began. " My father would practice sword fighting with my big brother Kenthan, he was six years older than me. His armor wasn't on right, he tripped on a stupid hole and fell on his sword." Terrian looked down and away to hide his face, but Link could tell he was crying.  
" But that wasn't your dads fault, it was just an accident." Link said.  
" No it wasn't! It was his fault! He put Kenthans armor on wrong!" Terrian said loudly in dissagreement, looking up at Link with a wet face. Neither Link nor Bomber said a word, they didn't want to get him any more upset than he already was. Terrian looked away again and wiped his face on his sleeve. " No matter. It's just dumb that he wont let me use a sword because of his stupid mess up. I could be better than him, I would be better than him. And one day I'll show him." Terrian spoke almost to himself as he sunk in his sadness and anger. A moment passed, and Terrian finally spoke again. " Anyway, thanks for letting me use your sword, Link. Don't tell my father I used it, ok?" A smile broke through the deep covering of buried sorrow, but Link could tell it was still bothering him, and had been for a while. Terrian walked away from them and headed back up the stairs to the group of men still conversing amongst themselves. Bomber and Link were still standing by the tree when he reached the men, and from what they saw of the way Terrian acted towards his father, he didn't seem angry at him at all. Maybe through five years of hating his father and blaming him for his brothers death, he learned to totally hide his true feelings.  
" Does this mean we're not gonna play anything?" Bomber asked. These touchy and mature subjects didn't seem to make much of sense to the toddler, and he therefore didn't think too much of them.  
" I don't think so, Bomber. Not right now, anyway." Link said to him. Bomber sighed, a little irritated that they had gotten his hopes up and then left him hanging. Link put his hand on the boys shoulder and they started walking back up to join the others.

It was a little after noon on that day, it was still early in the day but the autumn sun only contained so much daylight in it. It was already becoming low in the sky and casting long shadows over the surreal mountain village. Terrian and his father Sorell had moved into the loft of a house in the lower part of the village. Nifera told them that the house belonged to a Shiekiah that actually lived in the castle now. It was small, but they didn't complain. Neither of them spent much time in it together anyway. Links thoughts of his quest pressed against his better judgement now more than it ever had when he had started. Something in his mind was growing ever frightful by the day, a threat perhaps, but he couldn't place it. It was becoming harder and harder for him to sleep each night with the same nightmares he had been having since that night at his home in the forest, and the venture to Zoras Domain within the next day was something that, for all the time he had had to procrastinate, he still dreaded. Being wounded and his concern for Anthan and Jaymor had delayed him some, but he knew with every second he stayed in Kakariko, came another second closer to whatever that man Ganondorf was planning. He was still terribly worried for Dink, about whose whereabouts he still had no clue. It still made no sense to him why he ran off, or why he at least didn't tell anyone about it. It had been almost a week, and for all it pained him to do so, Link was going almost ready to give up on his friend.  
For all the bone-chilling cold that the morning had brought, the later part of the day was especially warm for autumn. Some of the summer people even re-opened their stowed away summer clothes and wore sleevless shirts as they took leasure strolls around the village. Even Nifera had gotten out a short-sleeve dress.  
" Everyone seems somewhat back to normal." Link said to her. She looked up from her repairing of a shirt of Anthans and smiled at him. " The gate is almost rebuild and everything, I cant wait for Anthan to wake up and see how well everything is going." He said. He looked out the window in the kitchen at a small group of the carpenters rebuilding the brick Mountain gate. They were arguing of course, they were pretty helpless without the head carpenter, who was still supervising the construction of the building in the village. But at least they were working faster than they would if he was there barking down their throats every few minutes, which he still managed to do anyway, only fewer times and farther between. At that moment Bomber ran into the room. He had no reason for running other than the fact that he was always brimming with unbridled energy. He had a great big smile on his face which he proudly beamed at them both as he entered.  
" Did you wash your hands?" Nifera asked him. Bombers smile flipped upsidedown instantly and he groaned and dropped his shoulders. He turned hiself around and walked back into the small hallway, washed his hands, and came back into the sitting room, his smile revived. "Good boy." Nifera smiled at her son, who then joined Link in looking out the window. Bomber situated himself on a chair beside Link, gazing humorously at the strange and clumsy carpenters as they constantly dropped bricks and tools on their own feet. Every time one of them would get angry and throw a brick at the ground in frustration, both Bomber and Link would laugh, and Nifera would remind them that it wasn't polite to laugh at people, even though every once in a while they would hear a giggle in the backround when one of the carpenters would yell.  
" I'm going to Zoras Domain today." Link said out of the blue as they all sat quietly. Bomber turned his head to him and Nifera quickly looked up from across the room. Although his back was turned to her, he knew the look on her face was a stunned one.  
" Wha- yer leaving us?" Bomber asked, a slight quiver in his lip.  
" I have to. You remember that letter your dad read from the Princess, I'm on a mission." He told the shocked little boy. The look on Bombers sad little face was almost too much for Link to look at. He heard Nifera slowly get up from the couch and walk towards them. She put her hand on his shoulder and he turned around to face her.  
" Must you do this?" She asked him softly. He nodded.  
" Then as before, there is still nothing I or anyone else can do to stop you. You are such a brave young boy." She told him.  
" I don't want you to go, Link! What if I never see's you again?!" Bomber was now sobbing quite loudly as he lurched forward and buried his face in Links chest, wrapping his arms tighly around him. Nifera gently pried her son loose and hugged him as Link got down from the chair.  
" You will, don't worry little brother." Link said to him. " I'll be back before you know it, too!" Bomber squinted glossy-eyed over his mothers shoulder at Link as he turned to leave. A short goodbye would be better for Bomber to deal with, a long and drawn out one would only make his pain stick longer.  
" L-Link!" Bomber yelled and jumped from his mothers grasp, running to Link and once again holding him captive. "C-come back very s-s-soon, or I will m-miss you too much!" Bomber studdered in between short breaths.  
" Goodbye, Link. Be safe, please." Nifera pleaded to him.  
" I will, I promise." Link tried to smile assuredly at the worried mother. Bomber let him go and stood motionless as Link turned and waved goodbye to them. " Please say goodbye to Anthan and Jaymor for me, will you?" He asked.  
" I will, sweetheart.." Nifera said solemnly. And with that, he turned and exited the cozy little house into the coolness of the closing day. He really did not want to leave, not to Zoras Domain. Sure, if he was venturing out to return to Idien he'd think otherwise. But his quest wasn't over, nearly, but still not. He walked away from the house and down the two flights of stairs to the lowest part of the village, sticking his hands in his pockets to keep them warm. He hated this sudden and abrupt sever from his friends, especially now when they had been through so much together. He did take comfort in the thought that now Bomber wouldn't be totally alone with Terrian living so close to him. He stopped at the tree in the center of the clearing and admired again Terrians handy work in carving the perfect Triforce into the bark. He heard a door shut and looked up. Terrian was standing at the entrance to his new house looking somberly at him. He hadn't been told about Links true reason for being in the village, but by the look on his face, he could just tell that he was now leaving. He may never come back, a thought that pained him to think, but it may be true. He hoped that this last quest to get the Sacred Stone of Water from the Zoras would be it for his adventures across Hyrule. He just wanted to find Dink and go home, some answers too would be nice, but nothing seemed too promising. Terrian waved goodbye to him with an uplifting and encouraging smile. Link did the same. Terrian was wishing him happy trails in his own silent way, the only way he knew. Bright yellow light flooding from the open window beside him now was brighter than the daylight in the shadow that the large house was casting. Only half of Terrians small face was illuminated by the firelight. Link nodded a goodbye to him and continued towards the village gate through the worn trail. Turning to exit the village, an owl perched itself on the village sign above him. It gazed at him lifelessly as he passed through the open gate, his back to the cozy little houses and the towering windmill that would keep turning no matter where he was.

It was a quiet evening in Castle Town. Most of the bustling about down in the square had tapered off into just a few people here and there walking around and peacefully enjoying the beautiful fall sunset. The sparkles cast by the sun in the crystal waters of the fountain shone brightly onto the walls of surrounding buildings and its mist created a vivid rainbow. Peace was becoming harder and harder to find lately, especially in the places closest to the Castle.  
"Malon, aren't you going to eat?" Talon set his glass of milk on the round table beside his plate of half-eaten noodles.  
"I'm not hungry is all." Malon replied, half aware that her father was even present.  
"Worrying about it isn't going to make it go away, honey. If anything happens you've got me and Idien and the entire royal guard on your side." Malon turned away from the open window she was gazing towards and looked down at the table in front of her, and sighed. The whinny of a horse from the front of the shop below broke the silence and Malon rushed from her seat to the window.  
"Idien's back!" she said as she stuck her head out and looked down. She waved down at him and watched him tie his horse's reigns to a post and walk into the shop with Brontas. Malon went into the kitchen to make a plate of food for Idien and pour him some milk, setting it all on the table just in time for Idien to walk in the door.  
"Why thank you Malon." Idien smiled as she sat down in her chair beside him. Idien wasted no time in beginning the process of devouring the plate full of noodles, he was very hungry.  
"How was your day?" Malon asked him pleasantly.  
"Quite eventful.." Idien's mouth was full and he covered it politely with his napkin as he spoke. "I, uh, set my guards to a new post according to the Kings sudden change in meeting arrangements with Ganondorf. So far there's been nothing too out of the ordinary that they've seen, other than this change." He paused to wiped his face.  
"What kind of change are you talking about?" Talon asked.  
"Well usually, he and the King meet in open areas with the Kings counselors, advisors, some of the officers, and of course the usual guards. But now he's saying that they are all no longer necessary and wishes to continue his and Ganondorf's discussions in private. Not even his personal guards are allowed to attend these meetings."  
"That's odd, what's changed with the topics that they need be so secretive all of a sudden?" Talon wondered.  
"I haven't heard anything new from my two on-site soldiers, there's been only one of these restricted meetings and there was no way for them to get anywhere near it. They aren't regularly scheduled so it's hard for the men to know when its best to leave their normal posts, but they have an idea that there is going to be another soon."  
"How much time do you think we have before Ganondorf does something bad?" Malon asked Idien.  
"Well that's the question, isn't it?" Idien sighed. "No one can tell, a mind like his is hard to predict. Not long, I fear. We can only hope he gives us enough time for Link and Zelda to do whatever it is they have planned."  
"What can they do, Idien? They're just children, what could they possibly do that the royal guard can't?"  
"They have hope, Talon. And Princess Zelda knows something that we don't, something that obviously involves Link or she would have asked one of the guards to go to Death Mountain. I trust her wisdom and Links courage to follow through with this mission, whatever he brings back here may or may not help, but I have a feeling something is about to happen with or without it." Idien picked up his plate and his empty glass and took them back into the kitchen.

The dark red cloak of the hooded figure standing near an open window of the castle swayed slowly and gently in the cool night breeze. In the inevitable twilight of the days end, Ganondorf could easily picture this land as a place where the sun would cease to shine. He awaited the time when he would be able to unleash his evil upon this land, and his mind reeled with his plans ahead.  
"I hate twilight. It always seems so crowded during the hours that twilight falls, like someone has put the world under a dark blanket and forced it to find a way to breathe." said a man sitting on a chair beside the rooms door. Ganondorf turned slightly and looked at him with a smirk.  
"You are unaware of the power twilight possesses, Kesse. Twilight is an element all in its own, with the power to consume and transform. It can be your greatest enemy or your most powerful ally, a curse or a blessing, to control it would be a mighty task indeed. Though you see twilight as a hindrance, I see it as a very useful tool in the years to come." Ganondorf looked longingly out into the shadowy sky, imagining a way that he might do so.  
"Humph, well perhaps the twilight princess may grant your request." Kesse scoffed with a slight laugh. Ganondorf turned to him again, this time with a look of curiosity in his yellow eyes.  
"Perhaps, if there were such a person, she may." He smirked again and continued his musing out the window. It was a very large room that had been given to Ganondorf for his stay at the castle, it was joined to the room where Kesse, an acquaintance and somewhat of an advisor to Ganondorf, was staying. The room was freezing and the fire in the fireplace was nothing but coals, but this did not seem to bother Ganondorf. His full length window was always kept wide open. Kesse stood out of his chair and walked over to the fireplace, taking the poker in his hand and stirring the coals around to make room for another piece of wood.  
"Don't bother with that worthless fire, it isn't doing this room any good." Ganondorf said to him without even turning around. Kesse scoffed and dropped the chunk of wood back into the box with a thud, robbing a blanket from Ganondorf's unused bed and plopping himself back into the chair.  
"Its freezing in here.. I hate the cold." Kesse grumbled with his face stuck into the blanket.  
"You'll be longing for the cold soon enough."  
"Well until then I'd like to be comfortable at least. The Valley isn't much warmer than here in the autumn, you know." Kesse blew into his fists balled together inside the blanket. "And I'm not going back till tomorrow."  
Ganondorf was silent for a moment. Still unmoved in his standing position.  
"The boy is on the move again." He finally said. Kesse stopped blowing and looked up at him. "I am now positive that he is the one, even without that pathetic Hylian prophesy. I had doubts to begin with, at first I thought that it was that boy from the former Western Provinces, but he is too young. Of course he should come from the unbroken Kingdom, the son of that worthless Hylian Commander. When this lad meets his demise, my revenge will be complete."  
"I wonder, was it fate or mere coincidence that the two things you sought for your revenge would be combined into one? That your vendetta with the Commander and your grudge against Hyrule would be satisfied in one event." Kesse thought aloud. Ganondorf grinned to himself thinking about the plans he had for this so called hero. Kesse shifted himself on the chair and broke Ganondorf's trail of deep thought. His face returned to a scowl as he continued to glare out over the ever darkening land.  
"It's pathetic how much hope these people place in those children." Ganondorf growled.  
"Well, these children have mighty tools, you know, and it is mostly the tools that are doing all the work." Kesse added. "The boy has already obtained two of the three sacred stones, as you have said."  
"And as I have also said, he would not have been able to get them if I had not wanted him to!" Ganondorf growled again. "I need him to open the door to the Sacred Realm, and without those stones and the Ocarina of Time, he will be nothing but a child with a pocket full of rocks, as useless to me as he will be when he has opened the portal."  
"And what of the Master Sword? Don't you believe that it exists?" Ganondorf was silent, his fists clenched in anger as bits and flashes of his memory entered his thoughts.  
"I know it exists." he said finally "But it has been locked away, kept secret for over three centuries. The power of the Sages has been withdrawn from its blade and without that power, it is nothing but an ancient relic. It will be powerless, even in the hands of the Hero of Time." Ganondorf said.  
"I think you underestimate Hylian prophesy a little too much, not just the prophesy but the boy and his princess also." Kesse stated. "If this prophesy is correct then they will be much more powerful than you count on. It prophesied you and your power, didn't it?" Kesse said. Ganondorf shifted his gaze towards Kesse but did not look directly at him. "So what makes you think that he will not be the hero he is said to be if you are indeed the conqueror you've been said to be?" Ganondorf mused silently. If this prophesy were true, a change in his plans concerning this young hero may be needed.


	8. Zora's Sapphire, Sacred Stone of Water

CHAPTER 8  
The Zoras Sapphire,  
The Sacred Stone of Water

A break in the trend of beautiful, sunny autumn days was all Link needed to bring down what little good moods he had left. The early morning was dark and wet, rain poured down from the dreary storm clouds. It was very early, he had an idea that the sun should be just now rising. All he could do was guess since it was impossible to actually see the sun at the moment. A group of frogs croaked and stared lifelessly at him from a log as he walked slowly up the trail beside Zoras River. The rain that had begun just before midnight and had not stopped since, had risen the level of the river by almost six inches. In some places of the narrow trail there were deep puddles that came up past the top of his boots, adding to his pleasant trek all the more. To make matters even more worse, the trail was extremely muddy and slippery. The river had no bank and dropped off into deep, rushing rapids straight from the edge of the trail. He was very careful to take slow and well-placed steps up the steadily climbing trail, wanting very much to not fall into the river. The trail wound on for quite a ways before he saw any sign of it ending. In some places he had to jump across narrow branches of the river and cross over land bridges. "at least" he thought " Someone has taken good care of this path."  
Suddenly there was a break in the constant sound of water, a ripping and tearing sound that came from under his feet. He stopped cold, something that, he did not know, was the worst thing he could have done. The soft bank very quickly gave loose under his weight, the tearing sound coming from sod being ripped apart from the land.  
"HELP!" Link yelled, just an instinct since there was no one actually around to hear it. But before he had even gone below ground level he was being flung to the side, away from the frigid rapids that had come so close to claiming him. He slammed against the wall of the canyon and landed in a puddle as an enormous chunk of sod was pulled away from right in front of him where he had once been standing. Link stood up quickly, dripping wet and muddy from head to toe. " Who's there?!" He yelled. No one answered, in fact, no one was there to answer. He was still all alone. "Ow!" he yelped suddenly, grasping his arm where something had just struck him. He looked around, still no one was near. "Oh, so you save me just so you can beat me up?!" He yelled out through the rain. "Well thanks a lot!" He said aloud. He scowled and turned to walk away, stopping for just a second to look cautiously around him. He just wanted to get to Zoras Domain, to get out of this miserable wet and cold. His first step towards such was hindered though as his foot landed upon something other than dirt (or mud, as it was) He once again came down face first into the soaked grass, getting a mouth full of bitter mud water. He lay motionless, his head turned to the side, and groaned. If he knew any Hylian curse words, he would have used one or two at this moment. With no words, he slowly pushed himself off the ground, his now brown hair sticking to his face. He moved his foot on the ground to get back his footing, and stopped. Whatever he had tripped on was round and smooth, not like a log as he thought it had been. He turned to look, taking his foot out of the puddle and sitting on his knees as he bent over the muddy water. Part of whatever it was was barely showing out of the water, it looked like glass. "A bottle?" he said to himself as he held it up from the puddle. A bottle it was, and a fine bottle at that. Link hadn't seen many glass items before, other than windows. But what he had seen in some of the shops around Castle Town was that glass works were very expensive, what he held now in his hands would be worth about five hundred rupees in any shop. But it wasn't just a bottle, there was something inside it, a small roll of paper. Link stood up and looked around him again. It was getting brighter as the morning grew closer to noon, but that didn't help with visibility since the rain had begun to get heavier. "Who are you!?" He yelled, but was answered with nothing but a very loud crash of thunder. He flinched and almost dropped the bottle. Getting no reply, he cautiously twisted the cork from the bottle's opening and dumped the paper out into his hand. Placing the cork back into the lid and tucking the bottle under his arm, he unrolled the paper.

To whom it may concern,  
Lord Jabu Jabu has swallowed  
me as I fed him. Please save me!  
Sincerely,  
Princess Ruto

"Princess Ruto?" Link said aloud, looking the paper over again. "She must be King Zora's daughter." he thought. Something about this letter was odd and suspicious. For one thing, how could she have written and sent this bottle if she had been swallowed by something? Had she just happened to have paper, ink, a pen, and a bottle with her at the time? And if she could have sent this, could she not have also gotten out herself? And who or what had she sent as a messenger to deliver it? Link thought for a moment, rolling the paper back up and putting it back in the bottle to keep it from getting wet in his pocket. Suddenly there was a splash behind him, as if someone had just ran through a puddle. He turned quickly and shot swift glances all around. "You know, I'm really getting tired of you making these noises and hitting me! If you want so badly for me to know that you're here, then just show yourself!" Link yelled as he once again saw that no one visible was there. There was a long pause as he stood staring down the path.  
"…See you later…" Said a voice that seemed to come from all around him. Link didn't bother to look around him anymore, whoever this was, they weren't going to show themselves.  
"Yeah, see ya.." He said back, his voice almost inaudible in the storm as another roll of thunder boomed and echoed all around.

The front door to Zoras Domain was nothing but a cave under a large waterfall. A rock above the cave's opening protruded from the vertical cliff face and separated the water where it came down, leaving the cave open to enter without getting too wet (which made no matter to him, since he was already as wet as he could possibly be.) The cave was up high from the deep pool where the waterfall ended and became the river. A long, steep land-bridge wound up from the bank below and became parallel with the cave's opening, leaving a gap between it and the cave. As it was still raining, the grass growing on the land-bridge was just as slippery as the grass on the banks. Link literally had to crawl on all fours, gripping handfuls of grass as he went, to keep from falling down into the swirling white-water of the pool below. On more than one occasion he had to take off his boots to get more traction. This made his feet colder than ever, and they ached terribly from it.  
Not a moment too soon, he reached the top and let out a sigh as he straightened out his tunic, belt, and sheath strap and tapped his toes to the ground to make sure his boots were on all the way. The gap he saw as he came up the ramp seemed a lot smaller then than it did now that he stood on its edge. Of course, it would barely be a jump for and adult, but Link would really have to hurdle himself across to make it. He ran for it and made it almost without a problem, a fat raindrop splashed right in his eye just as he jumped, making things blurry when he landed. But he had made it to Zoras Domain, he felt relief for the first time since he had been in Kakariko. A sweet smell flowed from deeper within the cave, and he could see fire light shining around the corner. There was nothing to keep him from running straight towards it.

Kesse stood gazing out his window into the dreary storm, buckling his sword sheath and pulling his long grey hair back into a pony tail. The glass panes were closed, a fire was roasting, and his room was very warm until one of the doors opened and the frigidness of Ganondorf's room over powered the heat. Kesse dare not tell him to close it behind him.  
"Leaving so soon?" Ganondorf grinned. "Why, the fun is just beginning" Ganondorf was clad in black Gerudo armor, prepared for his next secretive meeting with the King. Kesse looked towards him, straightening out his collar and fitting his gauntlets.  
"Not the kind of fun I'm willing to risk my life for. I'm too old to be conquering any more kingdoms, especially if I already belong to it." He said, turning back to look out the window. "I'm looking forward to the dry desert. Besides, Nabara's death has left the fortress all but leaderless, the least I can do is take the command off Nabooru's shoulders. No responsibility such as that should ever be left in the hands of a child." Kesse said.  
"The girl thinks of herself as a queen. The band of thieves she leads call her Nabooru the Exalted, you'll have quite the challenge in taking that power from her if her followers are so loyal." Ganondorf stated. Kesse turned to him.  
"They were loyal to her mother, that is the only reason they pretend to have loyalty to her. If I also claim to rule in Nabara's name, they'll gladly have a wise warrior over a prissy teen." Ganondorf laughed.  
"I do believe you may be correct. But your ruling depends on whether or not the Witches of the Haunted Wasteland will have you as their ruler. They allowed Nabara to rule because she had a strong sense of power and how to use it. Her only flaw was her alliance with the King, to this fact the Witches paid no mind to because they had no quarrel with Hyrule. But if you are to rule when you have a known connection with me, they may take notice. If I am to wage this war on the King, I risk bringing the Desert Province and all of Hyrule to a second Great War. Your aid to me may be taken into account with them." Ganondorf explained. Kesse thought for a moment.  
"But that is only a slight risk, as you have said before. It is most likely that nothing of that sort will happen." Kesse said almost as a question, still weighing out the possible consequences in his mind. Ganondorf grinned darkly.  
"Yes, it is most likely. There will be no one to wage the war after I kill the King." Kesse shot a shocked look at Ganondorf, the grin still stretched across his face.  
"Kill…the King?!" Kesse asked.  
"Of course, once I have done that, seizing his kingdom will be all the more easy. Even if I would not kill him, he would be useless once I had the kingdom, he holds no power or control over the Sacred Realm. His daughter, on the other hand, will be useful. So she shall live." Ganondorf plotted. Kesse sighed and crossed his arms in thought.  
"You would still have the Hylian Soldiers and their Commander to deal with. Once they learn that their King has been killed there will be nothing stopping them from barging into the castle and killing you on the spot." Kesse explained. Ganondorf chuckled.  
"The Royal Guard and the soldiers of Hyrule are a mere obstacle. A fence of sticks that is blown over by the wind, or kicked down by my foot. A Commander is nothing without those he is sent to command, once his force has been destroyed he will flee or die." He paused. "I need only the boy and the tools that he and the Princess possess. Once he has gained access to the realm I can seal him inside it forever so that there can be no chance of him fulfilling any prophesy." Ganondorf almost growled.  
"If this is the case then you must act soon. The boy-"  
"Silence!" Ganondorf held up his hand to interrupt Kesse. "…timid feet approach." Ganondorf said quietly. As Kesse listened closely, he could not hear anything for about ten seconds. Then very quietly there was a knock at the second door which led out into the hallway. Kesse let out his breath and walked to the door to open it. As the doors were opened, there stood a short, skinny messenger boy with a blue hat and a dim yellow tunic, the Hylian Crest imprinted onto its front. He was frightened to begin with, but when Kesse stepped back and he could see that Ganondorf stood in the same room as he, he nearly stopped breathing and forgot what his message was. He stared and stared at Ganondorf's dark form until Kesse broke his gaze by speaking to him.  
"Well? What is it?" he asked. The boy shook his head and looked up at Kesse.  
"Yes, um, Kesse, sir, you're t-traveling party has just arrived in Castle Town and will be here shortly.." He began, and then looked down at the floor, taking many short glances up at Ganondorf. "G-Ganondorf, s-sir. The King will see you now.." He finished. Ganondorf nodded slowly, getting a lot of amusement out of the boy's terror.  
"That will be all then?" Kesse asked. The boy quickly turned his gaze to Kesse and nodded so fast it looked like he was shivering.  
"Y-yes sir, good day sir." He said quickly and turned to walk as fast as his legs could stand without running (which was not proper or allowed for a child to do in the castle.) Kesse watched him round the corner a ways down the hall and then turned back into the room.  
"He was terrified out of his mind." Kesse exclaimed to Ganondorf as he also walked to the door.  
"As all of Hyrule will be soon." Ganondorf grinned to him as he stepped out of the room into the hallway and walked away to meet the King.

Usually dark, wet, and cold, a cave entrance to anything can always give off the wrong impression. For though the entrance to Zoras Domain had been such, the inside was as royal and warm as any castle of any King. As he descended deeper and deeper down the cave, Link was first greeted with a single torch lit in the middle of the path, where he warmed his fingers and dried off his hair and clothes as best he could. Then with the hello from a very strange person (he wondered if he could call them people.) They were all very tall, but for the little ones which he could see were children, and wore no clothes. They had webbed feet and long fins attached to their arms, which along with their entire body, were covered in blue scales. They were obviously a sort of fish people. Their heads came back to long points, like the tail of a fish, and hung down their backs. They were a lot friendlier than the Gorons, as far as strange Hylian peoples go. The guard that greeted him stood at the exit of the cave where it opened up into a very large chamber, he bore a spear and wore a silver helmet.  
As he came closer to where the walkway ended and split into three different paths, he felt the air getting warmer and warmer. The chamber was huge, much taller than it was wide though. It was made completely from rock with smoothly carved walls, on which sparkled the reflection of water all around. A humid mist rose from below the small cliff over the edge of the walkway. He couldn't help but smile widely as he saw what was below him over the edge. An enormous pool filled with sparkling, crystal-clear, blue water shone up at him. Schools of beautifully colored fish swam about with about seven Zoras in the deep water, and Zoran children splashed around in a shallower part. If he weren't so dirty and dressed, he would have jumped in then and there, it looked so inviting, but he would have hated to get even a pinch of dirt in it.  
Looking up and around him, he saw that the pool was fed by a very large waterfall, much taller, but not quite as wide, as the one he had to pass through to get to the entrance of the cave. It looked like it was being poured smoothly from a cup, like a glass curtain over the rock walls. At it's top stood a lone Zora smiling down at everyone, it caught Link's eye and waved joyfully at him. Link waved back with a smile. Suddenly the Zora stepped back and took a graceful lunge off the waterfall. Link gasped, but before he had time to worry, the Zora had already entered the water below in a swift and fluent dive and was swimming very quickly towards him. Link bent down to get a little closer to the waters surface as the Zora emerged, spitting a stream of water out.  
"Hello Link!" she said. Link was a little stunned that she knew his name and couldn't quite get any words out. The girl Zora giggled at him with a wide smile. "Don't be so shocked, we're expecting you!" she said cheerily.  
"You are? How did you know I was coming?"  
"I told them" came a voice from beside him. Link quickly stood up straight and looked at the person.  
"Adiah!" Link smiled as he recognized the guard he had met at the Castle gates. Link reached out his arms and gave Adiah a hug with a laugh of surprise.  
"Well, it's nice to see you, too!" Adiah chuckled. All the while the Zora in the water below them was still giggling. Link backed away from Adiah and looked down at her, a little embarrassed. "Thanks Fedity." Adiah waved to her.  
"Sure thing! If either of you need me, I'll be up at the top of the waterfall!" she said with a smile and dove back into the water. Link turned back to Adiah and laughed.  
"What are you doing here?" He asked "I thought you had guard duty."  
"I did, till Idien said he had a more important job for me." Adiah said happily. "Imagine, me, a messenger to King Zora!" He laughed "I have you to thank for that, if you hadn't been a messenger to Darunia, I wouldn't have been sent. But shhhh, don't tell anyone outside Zoras domain, the King doesn't know I'm here." Adiah said quietly. Link nodded.  
"So why exactly did Idien send you?" Link asked as they both began walking up a path that led around the edge of the chamber and up to another room where the waterfall started.  
"Well, for one thing, King Zora absolutely hates surprises, even if they're good ones. Your sudden arrival would have caused an uproar in this place. And another thing…"Adiah stopped and looked a little more serious, edging his face closer to Links so he could speak quieter. "I'm not supposed to breathe a word of this to anyone other than King Zora, but since you're involved I figure you ought to know."  
"involved in what?" Link asked. Adiah paused and looked around them cautiously.  
"Idien thinks that Ganondorf is planning an attempt to take over the castle.." Links eyes became wide.  
"Already?!" He whispered.  
"What do you mean 'already'? did you know about this?" Adiah was shocked and put a hand on Links shoulder  
"Not exactly, but Princess Zelda said that he would. I don't know how she knew.." Link told him. Adiah furrowed his brow and looked at him worriedly with a sigh.  
"At any rate, it's just precautionary. Idien and his men have no viable proof, only their suspicion and instinct. I have informed King Zora of the possibility of a war, which, as you can imagine, was a big surprise. I hated putting that burden on his mind with his daughter still missing." then Link suddenly remembered, Princess Ruto! Adiah stood up and looked around him again with another sigh. "anyway, Link, it was great to see you again, I'll tell Idien you said hello, shall I?"  
"You're leaving?" Link asked him.  
"Got to, I'm not supposed to be here, remember? Sooner or later they'll notice there's a strange looking scarecrow standing at the gate wearing my armor." Adiah said and began walking back down the walkway to the cave. "Goodbye then!" Adiah shouted back at him with a wave.  
"Bye soldier!" Fedity yelled loudly from atop the waterfall. Link could see she was blushing.  
"Bye.." Link said, not nearly loud enough for Adiah to hear it. He could not believe that he had forgotten about Princess Ruto, and he could believe even less that Zelda's suspicion about Ganondorf was coming true so quickly.  
"Fedity!" Link yelled after Adiah had then gone completely out of view.  
"Yeah honey?" she yelled back.  
"Which way to the King?" Link asked.  
"Oh just keep following that path you're on, it leads straight to the throne room!" She said with a smile. Link ran up the ramp as fast as he could, making sure not to miss a step and fall off the side of the path.  
"Careful, sweetie!" Fedity chuckled.  
After running a ways, he came to a large, square chamber. The path ended on a small flight of stairs at the edge of a shallow pool that made up the floor. Above the pool was a tall ledge painted with many detailed designs of blue, gold, and red. Water ran over the ledge and into the floor pool. To his left was a large archway where through flowed the water from the floor. Obviously this was where the waterfall started. But what took Links attention in this room the most was the one that sat on the flowing ledge. The largest Zora he had seen yet, wearing a short, golden crest on his head and a small red cape that covered his shoulders. He did not sit in the middle of the ledge, but off to the left. The spot on his side assumed by Link to be where the Princess would sit. Link walked up the steps and bowed slowly to King Zora.  
"Link, son of Darin, welcome to my domain." the King said in a deep, fluent voice. Link straightened himself and nodded to the King.  
"Thank you, your majesty."  
"Mm. And what is it you desire of me and my people? How might such as I accommodate a brave lad such as you?" the King asked with a smile. Link reached inside his pocket and pulled out the bottle with Princess Ruto's letter in it.  
"Actually, your Majesty, I have something for you. From Princess Ruto." Link said. The Kings face suddenly became very grave.  
"R-Ruto..? My Ruto?" He asked shakily, his voice sounding very excited. Fedity walked from the waterfalls archway and up to Link, taking the bottle from him and walking up a short ramp to where the King sat. She gave the bottle to him. King Zora took it quickly, opened in, and began reading. He said nothing, but continued to stare blankly at the paper after he had read it. "M-my Ruto… how..? It's just not possible.." He said slowly.  
"Your Majesty?" Fedity said.  
"My Ruto…she's been eaten…" he said, he was breathing heavily. Fedity gasped in horror.  
"…Swallowed whole. By our lord Jabu Jabu" King Zora's eyes were wide, a look of terror etched across his face.  
" Link, you must go and save the princess, I know you can…" the King said, his voice still shaky and quiet. Link didn't know what to say, he stood and looked up from Fedity to King Zora and then back. "Please, a desperate father is asking you!" The King said.  
"I-I will..." Link said. They looked at him silently. "Don't worry Your Majesty.." He said. King Zora sighed and closed his eyes in relief. Fedity looked worried.  
" Very well then. You must enter to Jabu Jabu's alter  
through the tunnel behind the throne. Do not be shocked when you see him, Jabu Jabu is a whale, our mascot and guardian. I know not why he has…swallowed…my princess, but I know that one such as you can save her. I will be deeply in your debt, go now, and take this." The King held out a jar containing a fish. "Open the jar and place the fish in front of him, he will open his mouth, and then you should be able to see the Princess." the King told him. Link tried to hold back a shiver at the thought of climbing inside a whale. He bowed again and began walking up the ramp that led to the throne. Fedity stood at the top and stopped him with a tight hug. It felt weird to touch the Zoran girl's skin. It was not slimy as a fish's, but smoother like a snake's, and wet.  
"Y'all come back now, you hear?" she smiled. "And be careful, I wont be telling that soldier when he comes back that we fed you to our pet fish as a sacrifice." She said quietly so that King Zora couldn't hear her. Link chuckled quietly, but in his mind, this was the closest thing to that. He walked past King Zora, who nodded solemnly at him, and began walking through the long watery tunnel to Jabu Jabu's alter. His boots, that before now had almost begun to dry out, were now completely soaked again. But at least the water in the tunnel was much warmer than the rain and puddles had been. The cave was not very long, and he squinted his eyes as he exited the cave and emerged out into the bright day. It was still cloudy, but instead of the torrential downpour that he had left when he entered the Domain, it was now only drizzle. The alter was basically a lake with a large stone platform on its edge. Water covered the walkway up to the platform which was decorated with jars and banners, and he had to continue wading till he got to the platforms stairs. He saw no whale, just a deep lake, the bottom of which was impossible to see through the dark water. Everything was quiet, no sound but the soft rain on the water and stone. He took out the jar with the fish in it and pulled the large cork, dumping the fish out onto the stone near the edge. Nothing happened, and the dead fish lay there untouched, the rain washing its slimy water away and it drained onto the stone, creating a small stream in the crack between two tightly fitted stones. It spilled over into the lake till all the grey colored water on the stone had been turned back into nothing but clear rain. Link sighed.  
"I'm not diving in there after him." He thought. The grey fish water floated atop the lake, making a small, diluted grey patch that continued to spread out and mix in with the rest of the water. Suddenly a large wake protruded from the middle of the lake, stretching out until it reached the shores and it's waves splashed up against the stone platform. Link stepped back a ways from the edge. What happened next was something that made him wish he could have flown away faster than light. An enormous fish sprung from the lake, taking half the lake with it into the air. It flew towards the platform, Link was sure it would land right on him. These words ran through Links mind over and over as fast as he had time to imagine them.  
"Here lies Link. Squished flat by a whale that decided to sit on him."  
The whale landed, not on him, but nearly four feet in front of him. Water splashed up everywhere, soaking him even more and even knocking over some of the jars. The whole platform shook and Link was surprised it didn't break. The whale stared and stared at him, and he stared and stared back (just about needing to change his shorts.) The fish was tiny compared to Jabu Jabu, Link wondered how he could consider it a meal or even a snack. Jabu Jabu looked down at the fish, and Link swore the whale had smiled. The whale wrenched open his huge jaws and Link saw his teeth. They were nearly as big as he was, and pointy but not sharp. He quickly began to pick up his feet and plunge into the unknown, knowing that the best way to start something you absolutely hated to do, was to just not think about it. The back of the whale's throat became closer and closer, but something shocked him, for it was not his own feet that were getting him there. He was flying, not quite as fast as light and not towards what he had hoped to fly to, but flying none the less. Then he noticed why. Jabu Jabu was inhaling, and doing it very quickly. He didn't have time to turn around, but he knew as he felt something wet and floppy strike his back that it was the small fish being sucked up as well. The light slowly disappeared from around him and he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. He was still in the air, he knew that much. "Why haven't I landed yet" he thought to himself. Suddenly he collided with something wet, slimy, and quite squishy. "Ugh, he's taste-testing me with his oversized tongue!" Link thought. But he didn't stay on the squishy thing too long. Soon he was again air borne, but falling this time down the whale's throat. Link yelled loudly as he plunged into darkness, falling and falling through the wet, warm, humid, smelly cavern of Jabu Jabu's throat. There was light ahead, a small beam through the darkness that came closer and closer. His hopes faded when he fell right past it, for it was only Jabu Jabu's blow hole. Then 'splat!' he landed once again, shaky and wobbly from defying gravity for so long. He was in the stomach of the whale, a place he never I his wildest dreams would think he would have ever been. He made no noise, only his breathing was heard by him, and of course the breathing of Jabu Jabu. Link groaned, it was still as black as black could be. The only hint of any daylight at all was the blow hole above him, now only a small pin-prick of white.  
"hello?…who's there?" Said a small girls voice from within the dark. Link flinched and said nothing. "oh come on! I heard you scream, I know you're there!" said the girl.  
"H-hello?…" Link said quietly.  
"Ah, a boy! From the sound of your scream, I would have sworn you were a little girl." said the girl, sounding very prissy and from the way she was talking, Link could easily imagine she had her nose in the air. He heard her walking towards him slowly and cautiously. "Where are you?" She asked, seeming annoyed that Link was being so quiet.  
"I'm here- right here- no, over here!" Link tried to guide her towards him, he could hear her changing her direction every time he spoke.  
"Don't move around! It would just be harder for me to-oof!" they both gasped as the girl walked right into Link, knocking him down and sending them both to the floor. "Ooo, I told you not to move! Why didn't you watch where you were going?!" she complained.  
"Could you please get off me…" Link gasped. "Your elbow is sticking into my lungs" the girl huffed and clumsily stood up off of him, letting him get up.  
"Hmph, well like I said. Could have been avoided if you had just listened to me." she said. Link rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her. "So, who are you and what are you doing here?" She asked him. Link scoffed at her.  
"I should think you'd know help when you saw…well, felt and heard it. You're the one who asked me to come, you're lucky anyone even found that message." He said to her, he had figured that this was the missing Princess Ruto.  
"Message? What are you talking about? I didn't send any message!" Ruto growled. "And I don't need any help! So you can just go back where you came from!"  
So it wasn't her that had sent the suspicious bottle, thought Link. That only made the suspicious bottle more suspicious. He was baffled that anyone could be so rude. Ruto could tell he was confused, she was annoyed, but she figured since he came all this way he might as well know the truth. She sighed. "Look, I've been coming down here for a long time, almost a week, at least. Ever since Jabu Jabu swallowed my mothers jewel." she explained. "I've been looking for it down here for that long, and I still haven't found it. Jabu's been acting a little odd lately and I haven't been able to get out for the last two days, but not matter, I'm not leaving until I get the jewel back...so you, whatever your name is, don't even need to bother."  
"It's Link…" he replied "so, that's all? You know what kind of worry you've caused for your father? He basically begged me to come rescue you." Link told her.  
"Well if he was so worried about my safety, I wonder why he sent you." she said mockingly. Link glared at her, though he was very glad she couldn't see it. They were both quiet for a while, brooding over how much they disliked each other right now.  
At that moment there was a low growl all around them that seemed to get louder and louder, and the floor of the whales stomach where they stood began to move around. "LINK!" Ruto squealed and lunged for him, wrapping her arms tightly around him. Suddenly the whole place rocked side to side and up and down, like Jabu Jabu was performing acrobatics in the water.  
"Hold on!" Link said to her as they were knocked all around, hitting the walls and landing on what had once been the roof. "We have to get out of here!" he yelled to her.  
"NO! my mother's stone!" she said as a pleading order.  
"Forget it! Is it more important than your life?!"  
"YES!" She screamed as they were again slammed into a wall. Link looked up to where he saw the pin hole of light, now not so far away as it had been before. All was quiet again for a moment, that's when they heard a different sound like rushing water. Link felt his feet becoming wet again, first his boots, then his knees. The water was rising rapidly.  
"His belly's filling up, now's our chance!" he said to her. Ruto tightened her grip around Link's shoulders and buried her face in his chest. She was sobbing loudly. Link took her shoulders and held her away. "Listen, once his stomach is full, we can swim up his throat to the blow hole, then we can climb out!" he explained. Ruto sniffled.  
"O-okay.." she said over the sound of the water, which was now up to their shoulders.  
"Come on!" Link said. Ruto let go of him and they began swimming, the light above them getting closer and closer. Their feet no longer could reach the bottom and the water was rising even faster. Link kicked and paddled as hard as he could, his fathers adult-sized shield weighing him down like a rock. He began to get worried, not because of his heavy load, but because they were going so fast that they might miss the small opening and go straight to his mouth to be swallowed again. Ruto was whimpering loudly, she was getting worried as well.  
"We wont make it!" She yelled.  
"Yes we will! Grab my hand!" he said to her, risking it by swimming with one hand and paddling even harder with the other. The darkness was getting weaker and they could now just barely see each other. Ruto grasped his hand tightly and swam closer to him. Now was their chance, the hole was coming up and they had just seconds to grab its edge. There it was! Link reached out his hand to grab hold, they were nearly out! Suddenly Jabu's throat squeezed into a small opening, as they came to the hole. Their choices were no longer escape or be swallowed again, it was escape or be crushed but the whale's closing throat. Ruto screamed and grabbed hold of Link again. Link grabbed for the edge as fast as he could, clenching his fist against the edge of the opening as tight as he could. But there was no chance. His fingers slipped away from the slimy skin of the whale and he couldn't get his grip back. Ruto closed her eyes tight and once again buried her face in Link's tunic. They had missed their chance, now came the worst.

'Caw…caw' came the call of a familiar sound. Link awoke to a seagull staring lifelessly at him from its perch on his chest. He opened his eyes quickly, gasping as the bird flapped its wings and flew away. He looked around him, sitting up quickly and finding that he should not have done so. His head throbbed and he felt a very large lump on the side of his head.  
"Link? Are you alright?" came a voice from in front of him. He looked up and saw a cute little Zoran child swimming in the lake next to the stone platform.  
"Ruto..?" he asked. The girl smiled and nodded, swimming towards him and coming out of the water to sit next to him. "Am I…am I…dead?" he asked. Ruto laughed.  
"Do you think this is heaven?" she asked. Link shook his head, slowly this time.  
"No, but, what happened?"  
"Well I should have know it, I guess." she began "Jabu Jabu would never do anything to hurt a Zora, or a friend of the Zoras. In fact, he helped us. He blew us out of his hole, remember?" she asked. Link had a terribly confused look on his face. "Of course you don't remember, you barely made it past that part. Well, once we landed in the water, we sunk down deep into the lake. I swam just fine because I'm a Zora, but you, you went a different direction and sunk much faster and farther than I did (probably because of all the things you are carrying and your oversized metal shield.) You hit your head on a rock near the bottom. I caught you and swam you up to shore, and when I got you there, I saw something that I never expected nor expect to see again." She explained and paused for a moment. "My mother's jewel, in your hand." she smiled at him. Link was shocked. " I don't know how you found it, but it must have been shot out of the whale's blow hole with us and you found it before you hit the rock. But it wasn't just that it was there, but also that it was shimmering brighter than I had ever seen it before, and it was glowing. So were your pockets, only they glowed green and red. My mothers stone was glowing blue. I hope you don't mind, I looked inside your pockets and saw what you had in there…" she said. Link was baffled at this and pulled out what was in his pockets. But instead of just his two sacred stones, he pulled out three objects. The Goron's Ruby, the Kokiri Emerald, and one other blue stone. They were all glowing in their own colors.  
"Is that..?" he asked  
"My mother's stone, you might call it the Zora's Sapphire." She said. Link looked up at her.  
"You put it in my pocket?" Link asked her. Ruto nodded.  
"I want you to have it. I don't know why, but you seem to me to be the right person to give it to. I never thought I'd give it to anyone, when my mother gave it to me before she died, she told me to give it only to the man I would marry. My prince, you might say." She said. Link saw from the corner of his eye that she was blushing.  
"Yeah…?" Link muttered.  
"Well, I never break my promises. And you're definitely not the skinny, freckled, dirty little un-kept boy I pictured when we were arguing in Jabu's dark belly. Not that your voice gives off that impression, not at all…" she was stammering, acting quite odd, Link thought. "A-actually…you are, um, quite h-handsome…a-and strong…" she said very quietly. Link also blushed, feeling frightfully awkward to be giving such compliments from someone who had hated him not too long ago.  
"Um, thanks…" he said to her, not knowing what else to say. Ruto was not looking at him directly, just glancing at him every few seconds out of the corner of her eye.  
"At any rate…" She began again, trying to regain her sense of control and once again speaking in her pomp princess voice. She could not cover up her blushing, however, which became even more vivid once she was looking at Link again. "I give that to you to keep the promise I made to my mother. I expect you…" she paused and Link looked up at her, meeting her eyes and causing her to blush uncontrollably. Then she said very quickly "to marry me someday…" she said, then stood up and ran off to the entrance of the cave and towards the Domain, looking back at him only once, but Link could see she was smiling. She caught herself when she saw him looking at her, lost her smile, and kept running till she was out of sight. He stood up from the bank and looked back at the stones. He now had all three of them, his task was complete, he could go back to Idien now. He was so happy and excited, even the fact that it was still raining could not dampen his spirits.


	9. So Much for Hylian Prophesy

CHAPTER 9  
So Much For Hylian Prophesy

It must have been a rather large storm that had decided to drop in that day. For the rain was coming down just as hard at Hyrule Castle as it was at Zora's Domain many, many miles away, and the two soldiers, uncovered and soaking wet, were quite miserable.  
" I don't like being all sneaky like this, Durel. What if we get caught?" the soldier whispered to the man beside him.  
" Shut up, Marez! I told you to be quiet! And for the last time, who's going to catch us?! The Commander himself ordered us to keep a close watch on that Gerudo guy, and if that means spying on his and the Kings meetings then so be it!" Durel snarled.  
" But that's just what I'm saying! What if the Commander's a little off his rocker? What with that Godson of his coming back and all, he's been acting all weird! 'sides, I don't see anything wrong with that guy, and I don't see any point in risking our ranks and possibly our necks just to satisfy Idien's curiosity!"  
" Hey, you're on duty, you address the Commander properly. I don't care what you think of his sanity."  
" Sorry.." Marez sulked lower after the rock wall that he and Durel were crouched behind. The King and Ganondorf were meeting under a gazebo in an opened courtyard behind the castle. Ganondorf's mood seemed very solemn but casual, as if he was arranging a funeral for someone he hated. The King's was quite different. He seemed frightened and shocked, but not showing it as much as he was feeling it. The walls around the courtyard were very tall and made a rectangle around them, there was only one way in and out of it and it was closed by a vast, dark-wooded door that was barred across from the inside. The King had ordered all guards to refrain from their duties patrolling the walkways above the courtyard, he wished to be completely alone with Ganondorf in this very secretive meeting. The fact that he was being spied on by two of his own soldiers in a steakout arranged by his own Commander had gone totally unnoticed by them or any of the other members of the guard.  
Durel and Marez had been all too willing to cooperate when Idien had asked them to keep an eye on Ganondorf, but after days of nothing out of the ordinary, Marez was getting a little bored. And this storm that had gone on since they arrived was not helping their spirits.  
" How long do we have to sit here?.."  
" Till the Commander says otherwise.." Durel cut him off before he could say another word.  
They sat there quietly for the next half hour, Marez mostly preoccupied with when they would be able to leave, and Durel staring and watching Ganondorf's actions very carefully.  
"They're arguing…" Durel said quietly. Marez turned from his lazy lean against the wall and peered over the edge.  
"What about? Can you hear?" Marez asked. Durel shook his head.  
"No…" he said. " I cant hardly hear anything over this damned rain." he stopped and watched what was now happening, they had stopped arguing. " Wait, what…what's he doing… what's going on?!" what happened was beyond anything either of them could ever have imagined. Ganondorf unsheathed a dagger from his waist belt so quickly that niether Durel nor Marez had time to shoot him. He plunged the blade into the Kings heart without any warning.  
"NO!" both soldiers shouted. The King collapsed dead onto the stone floor of the covered area. Ganondorf shot a stern, surprised look at the two men who were now standing up. "MURDERER!" shouted Marez, who was aiming his crossbow at Ganondorf's head. Ganondorf held back his hand, stepped forward, and threw the dagger straight for Marez.  
"MAREZ!" Durel shouted as Marez dropped his crossbow and Durel could see the dagger sticking from his chest. Before Durel could reach him to catch his arm, Marez fell from the wall and into the courtyard below. Durel looked back towards Ganondorf, who shocked and terrified Durel with a dark, evil smile. Durel ran, Ganondorf had pulled a second dagger from another sheath and was ready this time to take down Durel. He ran as fast as he could, just moments from being out of Ganondorfs line of sight. Not soon enough though, the blade that Ganon had now thrown had stuck itself in Durel's leg. Durel yelled loudly and stumbled, but he did not stop running. He reached the door that led down into the castle and ran down the stairs. Within moments he had reached the banquet hall where a group of soldiers, servants, Impa, and the Princess were having lunch. "TO ARMS TO ARMS! THE KING'S BEEN MURDERED!" Durel shouted as loud as he could, his voice echoing throuout the chamber. Zelda gasped and dropped her cup onto the table as every person in the hall stood up and rushed all around, many maid servants and their children screaming as they ran. A soldier helped Durel get the blade out of his leg and was about to bandage it for him when Durel said. "No! you go to the Commander, and then to Kakariko. Go now!" he said. The soldier nodded and rushed off as Durel limped towards Zelda. "Your highness, we must get you out of the castle." he said. Zelda was terrified, but Impa nodded.  
"I'll take her, worry not. Come Princess." Impa said, standing up and reaching for Zelda's hand.  
"No, wait!" Zelda said, jumping from her chair and rushing out of the hall.  
"Princess!" Durell called after her, but she was by now out of ear shot with all the other noise going on around them. Zelda ran up the stairs to a secret room hidden behind a picture, a place she would go to be by herself. There she found a box in a hole under the carpet, which she removed from the hole and set on the floor. She reached into the front of her shirt and pulled out a key on a chain. Her hands were shaking, she was breathing heavily, and her hands fumbled to get the key into the hole of the box. When she finally did, it opened with a loud click, and a blue glow shone from within. She pulled out from the box, the Ocarina of Time, her own sacred treasure. Stuffing it into her pocket, she rushed out of the small room and shut the painting behind her.  
"Princess, what on earth?!" Impa said to her as she rounded the corner behind Zelda and found her just closing the painting.  
"I could not let him find it…" Zelda gasped. Impa now understood.  
"I see, you've got it then?" Impa said, getting her breath back. Zelda nodded. "Good, now we must fly. Come, and quickly!" She took Zelda's hand and they both rushed back down the stairs.

Link was as happy as could be. King Zora had thanked him and thanked him too many times to count, and the whole while Ruto blushed and stared at him with a smile from her seat very close to her father. He had given him a horse (Link wondered where they kept them) and Fedity had led him as far as the place where Zora's River entered Hyrule Field. There she thanked him also and asked him to say hi to Adiah for her. She left him to continue on back to Castle town, and riding the horse as fast as he dare, the journey took less than half the time it had taken him walking. He stopped before the path that led to Kakariko when he saw something that frightened him a little when he first saw it. Fenton, Linny, Sorell, and one other soldier were just exiting the gate from the village and were riding hard for Castle Town.  
"LINNY!" Link yelled. Linny saw him and stopped, turning his horse and riding towards him, the others kept going. Linny was quite out of breath when he reached him. "what's wrong, whats going on?" Link asked him.  
"Ganondorf, he killed the King, the King's dead. The Commander sent for us, we're on our way to the castle now." he explained. Link's high spirits were dropped lower than he imagined they could. He was stunned, he could hardly speak.  
"A-and Zelda?" Link asked.  
"I dunno 'bout her, I figure her caretaker's getting her out as fast as she can."Linny said. "Listen lad, there's going ta be a war. Now I know how brave ya are and I know ya could help, but the Commander said if any o' us found ya we were ta tell ya ta stay in the village." Link looked shocked and was about to argue. "Sorry lad but it's the Commanders orders, there's nothin' I can do 'bout it. Goodbye son." Linny said, turning his horse back around to follow the others. Link didn't move till he saw that they had entered the castles gates, then he shot for them himself. He wasn't going to leave Idien and Zelda when he had made them both promises to come back. If anything happened to either of them and he stayed in Kakariko, they would never see that promise fulfilled. This logic that kept him going wasn't exactly the best to make him disobey Idien, but it was the best he had. Besides, he just had to get the three stones to Zelda as she had asked.  
"Hey, Link!" a voice said behind him. Link stopped quickly and turned around on the horses saddle to see Terrian riding up to him. "Linny told you what Commander Idien said, didn't he?" Terrian said as he stopped along side Link. "My dad told me the same thing. But I don't care what he says, he's not leaving me behind this time. We'll show that desert guy, wont we?" Terrian grinned at him. He was armed with a sword as small as Links and a shield. His actually fit his back. Link grinned back at him.  
"Come on." Link said to him, and they both took off for the gates of Castle town.  
It was completely silent at the gates but for the continuous sound of rain drops splattering on and around them, they heard no battle or any people. They stopped just before the draw bridge and looked into the market, squinting through the grey haze that the rain created.  
"I don't see anyone… what's going on?" Link asked.  
"Wait, you see that? Rounding that corner way down there, see?" Terrian said, pointing past the fountain and beyond. Rounding the corner that led to the castle gates was a white horse, and on it, two people. They came straight for the two boys at all speed, showing not a slight hint of slowing down.  
"Look out!" Link yelled and kicked back his heels to make the horse move. Both horses neighed loudly and reared out of the white horse's way. Its hooves splashed through the muddy ground as it passed in front of them, flinging dirty water everywhere.  
"LINK!" gasped Zelda as her and Impa rode away from them.  
"Zelda..?!" Link said back, shocked to see that it was her on the speeding white horse. As he watched them ride away, something blue shot towards them. Zelda had thrown whatever it was as hard as she could, but Link still had to lean all the way out of his saddle to catch it.  
"HIDE IT!" Zelda yelled at him, her voice now getting quieter as she and Impa rode away through the rain. Link didn't give it a second thought and stuffed the Ocarina of Time into his shirt. Zelda was now out of sight, the rain making it impossible for either of them to see as far as they would if it had been sunny.  
A dark chuckle from behind them made them both quickly turn their heads back to the gate. There was Ganondorf on a black Gerudo Stallion, staring cruelly at them both. Both boys glared at him, doing their best to bury their terror of what stood before them.  
"We finally meet, young hero." Ganondorf said to Link, completely ignoring Terrian. "I must say, I expected more. You do not match the definition of a child warrior, I should say more of a toddler with a few toys." He laughed. Link did not give Ganon the satisfactoin of a response, he and Terrian only drew their swords. Ganon laughed again. "Ha, toys that I see are too much for you. You're stature already has disappointed me, do not shame yourself further." He grinned and took up his horses reighns. " I'll leave you two to your sword play, try not to cut yourselves." he laughed, and darted away in the direction Zelda and Impa had disappeared. At that moment Terrian shot past Link in pursuit of the man, his sword still drawn, going as fast as he could.  
"Terrian, no!" Link shouted after him, but it was no use. Both Terrian and Ganondorf had disappeared into the rain. It was then that he heard it, the battle he and Terrian had listened for. He turned to look into the Market and saw people running everywhere. Soldiers, women, children, and terrible beasts of unspeakable shapes. Suddenly his shirt began to shine blue, not like the Zora's Sapphire had, but a darker and softer blue. He reached out the Ocarina quickly, it was it that had been glowing, and still was. He looked it over and found something sticking out from its mouthpiece, a roll of paper. He yanked it out and unrolled it, it was the same kind and had the same markings on it as the letter Zelda had givin to him when he went to Death Mountain. Link had to hunch over the paper to guard it from the rain, the ink on the page already running slightly just from him holding it. Written on the paper were these words:

Link,  
When you read this, I wont be around anymore.  
I had to leave you the Ocarina of Time in hopes  
that you might fulfill the ancient prophesy and  
save Hyrule from the evil that has come. Take  
the Ocarina and the three sacred stones to the  
alter in the Temple of Time and play the tune  
written below with the Ocarina. You are Hyrule's  
only chance.

So this had been what the Deku Tree had told him about. This was his great destiny, to fulfill an ancient prophesy and save Hyrule form Ganondorf's clutches. A scream from the Market broke his thought and he quickly stuffed the letter and the Ocarina back into his shirt. He took up the horse's reighns and dashed across the bridge into the Market where a terrible fight was happening.  
There were many bodies on the ground, some of soldiers, some of beasts, and some of civilians. Link saw through the crowd, Linny, Fenton, Sorell, Adiah, and Idien all with swords drawn and shields fitted, fighting off the terrible beasts along with the rest of the castle soldiers and guards. Adiah caught his gaze and stood horrified to find him there. He pushed through the crowd, killing his enemies as he came, till at last he reached Link still on the horse.  
"What do you think you're doing here?! Get out of Castle Town now!" he yelled, taking a swing and a large skeletal wolf that had lunged at his face.  
"I have to get to the Temple of Time! And I'm going!" Link yelled back. Adiah nodded, he knew he couldn't stop him.  
"I'll get you there, come on!" He said, turning around. Suddenly there was a loud yell form the direction Adiah had come.  
"SORELL!" shouted Fenton. Link and Adiah looked up to see an iron-clad, dark armored knight standing in front of Sorell, its blade through his chest. The Knight drew it quickly and cruelly, walking off and leaving him to die before he had even fallen to the ground. There was nothing anyone could do, he was already gone. Link couldn't move after what he had just seen. Terrian's father had just been killed.  
"Link, come on!" Adiah yelled. Link looked down at him and nodded. He jumped down from atop the horse, there was no way of getting it through this battle. He didn't want Idien to see him, he might try and stop him, so Adiah led Link around the battle and up against the buildings. They passed in front of the open blacksmith shop and continued forward.  
"Link?…" came a voice inside the shop. Link stopped and looked, there on the stairs leading up to the loft stood Malon. "Where are you going?! Get in here!" She yelled, beckoning him up the stairs. Link shook his head.  
"I cant yet, I'm going to the Temple, tell Idien I'll be alright!" He yelled back. Before Malon could say another word to him, he and Adiah were already out of sight.  
The entire market place, up to the castle gates and even beyond, was completely full of beasts and soldiers. A battle who's noise reached up into the mountains and filled the air.  
Link and Adiah ran up the steps to the grove where the Temple stood, but they were not alone. A large group of beasts followed far enough behind that Link and Adiah didn't know they were there. They reached the front doors of the Temple, two enormous doors that were as tall as any one of the buildings in Castle Town.  
"Help me push!" Adiah said as he caught a good foot hold in the bricks and pushed hard against one of the doors. Link stood beside him and did the same. As they pushed and pushed, they noticed the doors slowly opening, inch by inch they could see inside. Link gasped and Adiah yelled as suddenly a skeleton wolf sprang onto Adiah's back.  
"ADIAH!" Link yelled, drawing his sword and striking down the beast which fell to the ground and tumbled down the stairs. Then they saw what had followed them. A group of about six more wolves and the same Knight that had killed Sorell. Adiah's back was torn and sliced, his shirt was ripped and blood ran down his sword sheath.  
"Go!" Adiah said to him, putting a hand on his chest and pushing him back.  
"I'm not leaving you alone, you can't take them all!" Link yelled.  
"I said GO!" Adiah yelled back, pushing Link through the door and pulling it closed just far enough so that Link couldn't fit through the opening.  
"NO!" Link yelled through the small crack left in the door. Adiah left his back vulnerable to shut the door, and the entire group closed in on him. But he wasn't down yet, he still fought though they kept coming. He managed to kill about four of the wolves within the first few seconds, all the while the evil Knight stood and waited for his turn at the soldier.  
Adiah was a gate guard, he hadn't been trained for serious combat, he had never even used any weapon other than a spear, but none the less he fought as hard as he could.  
Link pulled and pulled at the door to open it back up, only moving it centimeters with each pull. "Adiah!" He yelled again. The last wolf left growled at Adiah, many of his teeth missing and his red, unblinking, glowing eyes piercing Adiah's. Adiah was weak, his arm had been bitten and his whole body was covered in slices from the wolves' vicious claws. The wolf lunged, and Adiah swung his sword and cut it in half in mid air. It gave a gut-wrenching, terrible yelp and fell to the ground in front of him. Adiah stood holding his sword limp at his side as the knight slowly stepped up to him holding a much larger sword. Rain plinked onto his and the Knights armor, and dripped from Adiahs wet hair. Adiah had the first swing, which struck the knights arm as he held it up to block the attack. The sword bounced off his armor and sent Adiah stumbling backwards.  
Link held his breath, shaking and not knowing what to do. He couldn't possibly open the door any more, all he could do was watch.  
Adiah caught himself barely, resting his arm on his knee and breathing very heavy. The knight brought his sword down on him with extreme force, Adiah met it with his own and the two blades clanged together. The knight twisted the blades around in a circle, bringing them up and pulling Adiah's sword from his weak grip. Adiah fell to his knees, weaponless and exhausted. He slowly looked back at Link, whom he could barely see through the small opening of the door. Link couldn't say anything, he instead stood motionless as the knight struck a final blow that went straight through the soldier.  
The fight was over. Link gasped and his breath stopped. The knight looked up at him through the door, turned, and walked back towards the battle down in the square, leaving Adiah's body to lie in the rain. Link stepped away from the door, stunned with what he had seen. Tears were filling his eyes, making all around him nothing but blur.  
A bright light shining from inside his pockets caught his eyes and he blinked, making the tears run down his cheeks. He pulled out the stones, they were glowing brighter than they ever had. He turned around and saw where he had come. Inside the temple was huge and beautiful, there was a row of stained glass windows on either side of the chamber, and they sent vivid streams of colored light down onto the black and white checkered floor. A red carpet stretched across the floor all the way to a black stoned platform in the center of the wall. There were stairs going up behind the platform to a large square stone with a carved symbol of a rising sun on its front. Link wiped his face and walked up the carpet to the black platform. He examined it, it was made of black marble and had three carvings in it. He at once recognized the shapes of the carvings that were ment to hold the three sacred stones.  
They shone like colored fire in his hand, till suddenly they became just as hot as fire, too. He quickly dropped them, covering his eyes for fear they might break, but they never hit the ground. They were floating in the air, spinning in a large circle till they each floated down into their own carved spot. He covered his eyes again as the whole room was filled with a blinding white light and the jewels rang with a majestic tune.  
"The tune.." Link remembered, and pulled the Ocarina from his shirt, it also was glowing. He had Zelda's letter along with it, but he didn't know how to read music. "I don't even know what these symbols mean" He thought. At that moment, the ringing from the stones changed pitch into a lovely song that they played over and over again. "Is that it?" he asked himself, and tried to copy the song with the Ocarina. He put it to his mouth and played, he had never heard such beautiful sounds before. For some reason, he thought, playing it just seemed natural. He found the right notes without any trouble, and mimicked the tune played by the ringing stones. He immediately stopped when suddenly the building began to shake and the stone square behind the alter began to move. It wasn't a wall at all, it was one giant door! It opened slowly as the notes of the Ocarina continued to echo within the entire chamber along with the ringing of the stones.  
Soon everything stopped, and he saw what was behind the door. A second chamber with a rising platform in it's center and a bright beam of light flowing down onto it. On the top of the platform was a pedestal, and coming out from its top was a shimmering blade. It's handle was a deep violet blue, and its blade was made of a bright metal that shone like silver. It was stabbed into the pedestal with a carving of the Triforce etched into it.  
A loud scream from way down in the market echoed through the tiny opening in the door behind him. The terrible battle continued, and it was then that Link knew he just had to do this, he had to save the Kingdom from Ganondorf. Link ran up the stairs behind the alter and through the door. He was now in the swords' chamber, a tall, cylinder-like room with larger stained glass windows all around it. It's roof was of glass, which let the beam of light shine down on the sword. He stepped up the few stairs leading up to the sword, gazing in wonder at it when he reached it. He could still hear the noise of the battle going on down in the town, the ever ringing of the stones in the other chamber could not drown that out.  
He didn't know how getting this sword was going to help anyone, he wasn't the best swordsman ever, and the blade was nearly as long as he was tall. He didn't even know if he could pull it out of it's pedestal. Still, what choice did he have but to at least try. He grasped its handle with both hands, barely taking up a little over half of it. He stepped up on top of the stone pedestal to be have a little more height over the sword, and pulled as hard as he could. He could feel it sliding out of the stone as he pulled, it wasn't nearly as hard as he thought.  
"Link, no! don't!" shouted a voice behind him. Link stumbled backwards, looking back at the doorway to find who had followed him. He was almost speechless, and his breath was taken from his lungs at who stood at the entrance.  
"…Dink?" Link gasped as he saw who it was standing at the door he had just opened. "DINK?!" he shouted. Dink said nothing, he stood staring in fright at what Link had in his hands. Link looked down as well, for the sword he had tried to pull had come with him when he had stepped backwards away from it's pedestal. Dink began to run towards him, but suddenly stopped and fell backwards as if he had run into an invisible wall. Suddenly the whole chamber was filled with a blinding blue light that shot up from the center of the platform on which Link was standing. It roared like an enormous waterfall, and Link gazed up to where the beam had shot and saw the glass ceiling vanish and become a bright blue patch of sky.  
"NO!" Dink yelled as he stood up and banged his fists against the invisible wall that was a barrier to keep evil from entering the chamber. Link looked back at him worriedly, still holding the sword. Dink stopped and looked around him, a look of horror on his face. Link gasped as Dink suddenly disappeared into a wisp of shadow and in his place stood Ganondorf. The invisible barrier that had kept Dink from entering was burned away by a dark, purple flame as Ganondorf passed through it and into the chamber. He came closer, stepping slowly up the platform stairs until he was right in front of him. Link closed his eyes and looked away from him, a terrible smile spread across his face as he reached towards the boy.  
Then all was white, nothing but pure white light all around him. Ganondorf was gone, Dink was gone, the sound of the battle in the square was gone. His eyes were heavy, his body was weak, he felt sleep taking over. He fell to his knees onto nothing, dropping the sword at his side and falling back onto the ground. All was lost, he thought. Ganon had killed Zelda and Terrian, then he killed Dink, now he was next and then probably Idien, and Malon, and Talon, and all of Hyrule. It was all his fault, he failed to stop Ganondorf, he failed Princess Zelda, he had failed his destiny.


	10. Seven Years Later

CHAPTER 10  
Seven Years Later

Time passes, people move. Like a rivers flow it never ends. The flow of time is always cruel, it's speed seems different for each person, but no one can change it. A thing that does not change with time is the memory of younger days…

Not a living thing had been seen here in seven years, not since that fateful day when hope was shattered and the faithful met their doom. Under the blackening shroud that had veiled the light since that time, Castle Town lay in ruins.  
Nothing much was left of any building. The crumbled fountain had long since ceased and bits of shields and weapons lay strewn about what was left of the cobble stoned streets where the sun used to shine. Only one window was left unbroken, the window of what had once been the loft of the Blacksmith Shop. Though its roof had collapsed and its walls burned by Gerudo Thieves who had stolen all its merchandise, it had not lost it's memories.  
Idien risked death by venturing into this forbidden area, but that thought had not even crossed his mind. For him, this place still belonged to the rightful Queen and heir to the throne of Hyrule, Princess Zelda, wherever she was. For she, along with many others that included Link, his Godson, had been lost that day. None had seen them since. The only connection he had to any of them was Malon and Impa, whom he knew was the last person to see the Princess. She claimed the Princess had been lost to Ganondorf, but Idien found it hard to believe that.  
He stood gazing up towards the Temple on the outskirts of the square, still, along with all of Hyrule, wondering what had happened during the battle. He remembered back to the very moment it had happened, when all had ceased and sound itself vanished for what had seemed like an eternity. He remembered seeing his friend Adiah for the last time, running away from him towards the gates of the field and not having the time to see what he was running to. He didn't see him alive again after that, but he wondered why he had been up near the steps to that Temple, and what he had been doing before he had fallen.  
Finding his friend dead had seemed like days after he had seen him running away through the crowd, for it was during the time between when something unbelievable and just as unexplainable had happened. He had seen Link running towards the Temple and up the stairs alone, but it wasn't the same Link he had sent off to Kakariko. He was as a dark shadow, his hair as white as a cloud and his eyes as red as blood. He moved through the battle like a mist and disappeared just minutes before all had stopped.  
It was like slow motion, suddenly the storm clouds above the Temple were broken as a single ray of sunlight shot down on its roof, and then it happened. Another ray of light appeared, this one from the Temple itself. A brilliant blue light that rose to meet the stream of yellow from above. It shot into the hole in the clouds and above them, never making a sound, and causing all things that did make sound to become mute.  
He and his fellow soldiers had continued to fend off the nightmarish creatures that had invaded after their King was killed. Sword upon shield and spear upon teeth they fought, but not a whisper was heard. And then it was gone, and it took with it their hope.  
It was only he along with about four other soldiers that had survived that battle and the darkness in the years that came after it, although many civilians had survived by taking to hiding. He had watched nearly all of his friends die at the hands of Ganondorf and his evil, and nothing gave him any clue that could say that Link had not also been killed that day. Not a trace was found of him, he had simply vanished.  
Malon was the last person alive that had seen him right before time had slowed for those few minutes. She, traumatized by the battle and the terrible things she had witnessed, could not remember what he had said to her. Idien never told her nor Talon about the boy who looked like Link that had run right past him, he imagined that he had just been seeing things. But had he told them, he would have found that he had not imagined him, and they both knew exactly who that boy really was.

"Awaken… awaken O chosen hero." came a luminous voice that hovered all around. "Your time has come, awaken…"  
He opened his eyes slowly, the light all around him so brilliantly shining throughout. He sat up from his lying position and rubbed his eyes.  
"Did I fall asl-" Link began to speak, but noticed that it was not his own voice that had spoken. There was another person here with him, a much older sounding boy, saying what he was thinking, or so he thought. "Who's…there..?…!" he quickly slapped his hand to his mouth, for it had been him that had spoken. He jumped up from the ground, gasping and looking around at himself in disbelief. The floor was farther down from his eyes than he remembered it had been. Or, was it his eyes that were much farther up than he remembered? He was taller, he was wearing a bigger tunic and boots, and he had even been equipped with gauntlets!  
But how? He asked himself, how was this even possible? And where had these new things come from? He tried to calm down and catch his breath. His heart felt heavier, a feeling of valor and responsibility filling in the places that at one time, a farther time than it really seemed, had been filled with childish ambition.  
He had now almost gotten over the shock, still wondering how in the world this had happened. He was most pleased to find that his fathers shield now fit his back perfectly.  
Paying absolutely no mind to where in the world he was, he smiled and turned around a few times to take a closer look at his new wares, then he stopped. "….where's the sword…?" he asked himself, remembering the blade he had dropped when he had fallen asleep. He looked around him, it was nowhere to be seen.  
"The Master Sword is where it belongs." Came the same voice he had originally thought he had dreamed up. He turned around and saw a person that had not been there a second ago. "In your grasp." the person finished. And there it was, where it also had not been a second ago, in his hand. He flinched a bit when he saw it there, but then looked back up to the man who had appeared. He was not very tall, and reminded him of Talon. A fairly large man with white hair and a mustache that stretched all the way across his face. He wore a long, orange robe decorated with gold, and the same emblem repeated all over it. "And there the sword shall stay until all has been made right." the man continued, then he bowed. "I am Rauru, the Sage of Light and keeper of the Sacred Realm…" He began again. Link also bowed and began to introduce himself when Rauru spoke before him. "I already know your name as I have know it since the prophesy was foretold. You are Link, the Hero of Time and the wielder of the Master Sword." He said with a smile. "I am sure at this time you have many questions, and all shall be answered. You have wondered how it is that you seem so much older when, as you see it, you seem to only have been asleep for an hour or two. I shall tell you the truth.  
Seven years have passed since you drew that sword, and evil has been allowed to endure since then." the man explained, Link was shocked and horrified. "Do not look so afraid, this was not your fault. These events, along with certain things that have happened during your life, were not a part of the prophesy foretold by the later Kings and prophets in the last three centuries. This is why you and so many others had thought that the prophesy had failed and all hope had been in vain. The true prophesy had been long since forgotten when the original Hylian Kingdom had been torn apart by war, mixed up and rearranged so that everything seemed so easy. The people of the land did not want a prophesy that stated they would have to endure seven long years of suffering before the Hero came, even if it were the true way, they would rather believe that he would aid them at once before so much had succumbed to evil." Rauru looked forelorn as he explained. "The prophesy has not failed, it has only begun to unfold." he finished.  
"Seven years…"Link repeated quietly. "All the people I left behind, all my friends. Are they all still alive? What about Zelda, and Terrian, are they alive?" he asked anxiously. Rauors lifted his hand with a smile.  
"By still young master, yes, most of them are alive. Some, however, have passed on as a result of the battle that followed Ganondorf's take over and his tyrannical rule afterwards. As for Zelda, I cannot say. Either she is in hiding, in which case she has used a spell to almost totally erase herself from the foresights of all, or she was also lost during that time. I do not know." Link didn't like this answer, he was afraid of what he would find when he returned to Hyrule.  
"Link…" Rauru began. Link looked back up at him. "You must listen well to what I am about to tell you. When you pulled that sword from its pedestal in the Temple of Time, you opened a portal that had been sealed for over six hundred years. A portal that led to this Sacred Realm inside the dwellings of the Temple of Light, allowing access to anyone or anything that saw fit to pass through it after you had…" Link now knew what he was talking about, and remembered the very last person he had seen before all had left him. "That is correct." Rauru nodded very seriously, as if he had heard exactly what Link had been thinking. "Ganondorf entered this Sacred Realm seven years ago, something no sage or god would have imagined could ever happen. He destroyed five of us Six Sages, I am all that is left. I slipped away, cowardly as that might have been, but I had to keep you safe. I took you away as the last of the other sages were finished off and Ganondorf obtained what we had fought so very hard to protect…the sacred Triforce." Rauru paused with a look of dispair. "It gave him power beyond all else but the gods, but even they will soon be outmatched if Ganondorf succeeds what he is now attempting." Rauru furrowed his brow and looked sternly at Link.  
"And what is that?" Link aksed him.  
"Legend states that if one with a noble heart content with three virtues, Power, Wisdom, and Courage, would but touch the Triforce, then Hyrule would blossom into a golden age of peace and prosperity. But, if one with an unbalanced heart was somehow to sieze it, all would dispair and the Triforce would split into three pieces, taking root in three chosen ones who would bear the mark of the Triforce on the back of their left hands." Rauru held up his hand towards Links, and Link felt his arm lift by itself. The back of his hand was glowing in the shape of the Triforce even through his gauntlet. "You bear the Triforce of Courage, in your veins flows the valor of the gods." Link gasped, he was one of the chosen ones. Rauru nodded at him and let his hand drop gently.  
"Ganondorf's heart was obviously out of balance, and this legend was something he had not heard of. But now he as figured it out and searches day and night for the other two chosen ones." Rauru looked troubled and continued to stare at him. Link had to look away, his gaze seemed almost accusing and he couldn't bear to look into his eyes. "However…" Rauru began again. "something has taken place within the past eight years that has caused that legend to change, something that was unforeseen by any prophet of the ancient times, and Ganondorf still has no knowledge of it. The fact that his accidental creation of this dark being has caused the Triforce of Courage to split in two, has not yet entered even into his darkest dreams." Link shot his glance back towards the Sage.  
"…Dink?" he asked. Rauru nodded.  
"Yes, your evil duplicate holds part of you, just as you hold most of him. When you were placed with the Triforce of Courage, the unspeakable happened, and the power split. For Ganondorf to obtain the entire Triforce, he will need both you and your dark other. But for now Ganon has no knowledge of him, you must attempt to keep it that way. " Link nodded in agreement. Even knowing the fact that Ganondorf would become stronger if he found Dink, he would never have wanted Ganon to know of Dink anyways. The less he knew of his friends, the better it would be for them.  
Rauru still looked quite troubled, as if there was something pressing onto his thoughts that was trying very hard to come out, but the right words were difficult to find. "But Link, be forewarned there is another part of your friend's existence that even the great Deku Tree could not have known." Rauru told him.  
"What? What do you mean?" Link asked him.  
"I can tell you no more, but for now, know this. No single person can ever be completely evil. They can be half as Dink is, or almost whole, as Ganondorf is, but never completely whole, for even the darkest of humans hold a hint of a conscience in their hearts. This is a rule of the universe that can be altered only on certain conditions. Situations of coincidence that may or may not even come to pass, and all worlds pray they never do. You must beware, for these things could yet happen." Rauru told him.  
"What things are you talking about? What does this have to do with Dink?" Link asked. Rauru payed no mind to his questions and held his hands into the air as all their surroundings lit up.  
"You must go now, Link. Back to Hyrule, your place is there, the people need you. Goodbye." He said. Link suddenly began to levitate above the shimmering blue platform on which he once stood. He reached out to the Sage as he rose away.  
"Rauru! What about Dink?!" he yelled, but they were now too far apart to hear one another.  
The light faded around him, all became darkness and he felt nothing around him. Rauru was gone and he heard no sounds, nothing but the fast beating of his heart and his quick breath. Suddenly he felt his feet land on hard, flat ground, and slowly things around him began to take shape once more.  
"Rauru?…" he whispered, but no one answered. In fact, he wasn't even in the same place anymore. Before his eyes, the walls and colors of the bright stained-glass windows above him still emerging from the dissolving shadow began to click in his memory. He recognized this place he had been sent to, he had been here before, if only in a dream. A small stone form took shape on the floor in front of him, and suddenly he knew.  
"the Temple of Time, I'm in the Temple of Time." he said to himself as he recognized the pedestal of the Master Sword and the perfectly carved emblem of the Triforce etched on its face. He looked back up and around him, the chamber hadn't changed at all but for the fact that the windows shone a lot less and the skylight above was dark. "it must be night" Link thought. He turned around and looked behind him to the door way that led into the alter chamber. The stone squared passage was dark, and an ebbing sadness crept over him as he looked down at the cold hard floor where he had last seen Dink standing seven years ago, warning him not to pull the sword. "But how could he have known?" Link asked himself as he thought.  
Rauru' last words to him hung in his mind like a fog. In his parting words, the wise Sage had warned him, but against what? Dink? Ganondorf?…himself? He hadn't figured out why he couldn't have just told him. He sighed and tried not to pay to much mind to it, he still had to keep his head on straight and prepare himself for what lay just outside the Temple.  
Although at first, it had not seemed like seven years had passed to him, but now he began to feel like one does when you come to a place you once loved but hadn't been to in many years and find it ruinded, desolate, and abandoned. He also began to feel his age. He no longer felt like the ten year old boy who had once stood in this exact spot, trembling with fear of the man who had stood before him. He now felt like the warrior who would be the one to defeat that man.  
He stepped down away from the pedestal and towards the passage.  
"I have been waiting for you, Hero of Time." came a voice that made Link quickly draw his blade and shield and turn to where the voice had come from. He saw no one directly, but he caught a strange abnormality in the shadowed wall behind the pedestals platform. Link slowly stepped forward to see if he could place the shape, keeping his blade fast at his side and his shield at the ready.  
"Who's there?" he asked sternly. Suddenly the shape began to move towards him and out of the shadows, slowly becoming visible as it moved towards a ray of light in between them. The person emerged into the light, and Link's stance eased as he saw that it was only a boy his age, maybe younger. He lowered his weapon, but he did not put it away. He still had no idea who or what this person was.  
The boy stopped in the center of the lit platform beside the Master Swords pedestal.  
"My name is Shiek, I am one of the last of the ancient people descended down from the founders of Kakariko, the Shiekiah. You may have known one of them, her name was Impa, the caretaker for Princess Zelda." the boy said. Link dropped his guard a little more as he found that this person had connections to Zelda and Impa.  
"Zelda? Do you know her? Where is she, is she alive?" Link asked. The boy was quiet for a moment, in deep thought, he seemed almost sad. Then he nodded.  
"I have met her, and I do believe she is still alive." Shiek finally said. Link sighed, neither this answer nor the answer he got from Rauru was definite. They were both silent for a moment. "The prophesy has come to pass." Shiek began again, almost seeming to purposely turn away from the subject. "As I see you standing there, holding the mythical Master Sword, you really do look like the Hero of Time." He said. Link looked down at the sword again, its blade shimmering even in the dim light of the chamber. " The blade is power, created by the six sages before the first King of Hyrule took his place on the throne. It is the destroyer of evil, those who are vile and dark-spirited are unable to even touch it, for their life will be drained from them." Shiek explained very seriously, Link cringed slightly at the thought, and vowed to try and never think bad thoughts about anything while he wielded the sword.  
Shiek continued. "The fact that you were able to pull the sword from this pedestal proves that you are the chosen one with the power to fight along side the Sages. For even the strongest man could not have done so were he not blessed with such a spirit, and you did so when you were yet a child." Shiek explained to him. Link felt a slight sense of pride now that he knew this, at first he had thought the blade wasn't fitted in the stone tight enough, but now he knew the truth.  
"But your task now has only just begun…" Shiek continued, Links spirits fell slightly. "Five of the six sages have been lost, and now five others have been chosen to take their place. Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow, and Spirit, all must be awakened. Three of these new sages have already heard their call, and your job now is to awaken those two who have not. Most of these new sages I'm sure you know, the names of the ones already awakened are these. Nabooru: Sage of Spirit, Darunia: Sage of Fire, and Saria: Sage of Forest." Shiek finished. Link shot a shocked glance at him as he heard the name of the last Sage.  
"Saria…?" he repeated.  
"Yes, a girl I'm sure you know. Her life in this world was a true and courageous one, she was chosen for her spirit of life and wisdom. Though she had cared for you in your youth and watched over you like a mother, she will now aid you in your true destiny as the Sage of the Forest. You have not lost her." Shiek said. Shieks attempt to comfort him only slightly lessened Links emotions, and he hung his head as he remembered his home back in the Kokiri Forest. It seemed like forever since he had left Saria standing on the bridge that entered the meadow where the village stood, and he wondered if Ganondorfs demonic army hadn't already destroyed the peaceful place he had called home for most of his life. Shiek allowed him a few moments for his thoughts, but time was of the esscence, and there were duties that needed to be done.  
"Link.." Sheik spoke to him, he broke his chain of thoughts and looked back towards the boy. "You must go. Only you can save this land, and now is the time to do so." He said. Link stood up straighter, furrowed his brow, and let out his breath. He knew he couldn't outrun his destiny, and why try. He was going to embrace it. He was the chosen hero, the one who could defeat Ganondorf, the only one to save his homeland.  
"But where do I start.." Link wondered.  
"You must first go to a place far from here, a place you have been but do not remember. You must go to Lake Hylia, the place of your birth." Sheik stated. A sudden excitement and shock filled Links heart at Sheiks words. He had never been told where he had been born, and Sheik was right, he didn't remember it at all. Sheik continued. "A temple lies deep within the lake bed, you must go there to find the key that will lead you to the Sage of Water." he finished. Link nodded, this was all the instruction he needed and he was set to get there as soon as he could. At this time, he would have loved more than anything to go and find his lost friends, to find out which ones had survived the seven years he had been gone. But now was not the time, he needed to continue his journey. A thing that helped him in this was that even though he may not know where they all were, at least he could fullfill his destiny and help them by making their land safer.  
Sheik nodded at him. "May the winds of fortune always be at your back." he said. Link turned away from him and began walking towards the door to the Temple. He passed the alter on which the Sacred Stones still rang beautifully, shimmering in the dim light of the Temple. The door to the outside was open wider than it had been, a cold breeze being allowed to blow through the opening. He breathed in the air deeply, hoping it would be fresh and sweet as it had been before, but was disgusted shockingly. The air was bitter and smelt of smoke and decay. He coughed as he looked out the door. It was dark outside, but Link could tell now that it wasn't night as he had thought before.  
Down the steps of the Temple he stood where Adiah had met his death at the hands of Ganondorfs evil knight. Although he felt terrible dispair as he remembered watching the soldiers defeat, he sighed in slight reliefe to find that not a trace had been left to say that anyone had been killed here. Adiahs weapon was not even there. And so he left the Temple grove and entered the market, a place he wished to leave immediately as soon as he saw what it now looked like. The sight of this once so cheerfull and lively place having almost nothing left of it drained the hope from Links heart like a knife letting blood. It seemed to give off its own aura of despair, the demolished buildings crying out in pain and sorrow-filled anger at him. It became even more overwhelming when he saw what had been left of the Blacksmith shop as he walked through the square. He stared at the building with sadness. And although he did, for some reason, want to enter it, his feet just would not take him there.  
A sudden gust of cold wind blasted behind him, causing a few loose pieces of wood to come crashing down onto the ground from what was left of a wooden staircase. He jumped around, the sudden noise making him very much on edge. But what took his gaze was not the buildings nor anything else old and destroyed within his view. It was something that was new, and not destroyed at all. A dark, tall tower stood quite aways passed the market. It was an evil looking place, made entirely from a black material. Link was a bit confused, for this tower stood where the Castle had once been as one would see from the market. It didn't take long for this realization to hit him. Ganondorf had completely destroyed the magnificent Hyrule Castle and had built his own in its place.  
Rage boiled within Links mind as he glared at the tower. He had a mind to run up there as fast as he could and rid the world of Ganondorf right there on the spot. But he knew he hadn't a fighting chance without all six Sages with him. He couldn't bear to look at the place anymore, and turned quickly away from it before he decided to go through with his thoughts. He left the Market, passing by the dead trees and broken fountain towards the gates of the town, pausing for only a moment to take one last look at the Blacksmith shop. The wooden sign with the sword carved on it was missing from the place it had once been, but he still remembered even its tiniest details. He would never forget that sign.

Ganondorf sat musing in his chambers, sliently meditating in the darkness of his tower. He had been searching for seven years, ever since he had obtained the power he now possessed, for the other two who had been placed as bearers of the rest of the power that he so desperately desired. He knew that the princess Zelda was one of those bearers, but the other, he hadn't a clue. He breathed deeply, letting out his breath in the form of a growl as he became slightly frustrated. He was not even going to bother with the piece unknown to him until he had found Zelda, but even now, she evaded his grasp and his sight.  
He could see things now through fore-sight, a gift that came with the Triforce of Power he now bore. But ever since he had obtained the power, he still could not see the Princess or the unknown bearer in his thoughts. He also could not see that one of his plans had failed, that Link and the Master Sword had not been permanently trapped inside the Sacred Realm as he had hoped.  
A loud, frantic knocking sounded throughout the large chamber, echoing loudly. Ganondorfs gaze shot startled toward the door, his heart skipping a beat with surprise. This angered him profusely and he yelled at the knocker.  
"What?!" he screamed, the door burst open, and a knight entered. His face was completely blocked from view by a large iron helmet, and his entire body was covered in armor.  
"M-My liege! The boy!…" he gasped.  
"What boy?!" Ganondorf demanded.  
"The boy you left for dead in the Sacred Realm! He's out! And he is FAR from dead!" the knight finished franticaly. Ganondorf launched from his chair and his eyes became wide with fury.  
"WHAT?! That is NOT possible!" he yelled.  
"I assure you, it's true! He was spotted exiting the Temple alone about twenty minutes ago! He had the sword!" the knight almost sqealed the last word in horror. Ganondorf was silent for a moment, and they both stood motionless for about five seconds as Ganondorf thought deeply.  
"Leave me…" Ganondorf finally said, calming down only slightly, his voice still shook with rage.  
"S-sir…" the knight hung his head and backed quickly out of the doorway, shutting the door behind him as he left the room.  
"So you have emerged from legend, O' Hero of Time, and I do believe you are the missing piece of the puzzle. Perhaps it may have suited me well that I did not kill you, though many times I had the chance." A smile crept across his face as he turned to exit his chamber.

It had been the better part of the day that Link had walked the long and winding paths that led through Hyrule Field. It was getting late and his long shadow stretched across the grassy hills in front of him as the sun began to set to his back. To his great regret, he had not asked Sheik the directions to Lake Hylia, and didn't quite know why he hadn't told him. He had come to many a fork in the road while he walked, most paths trailed off and were lost in the grass, but some became well traveled wagon roads. Luckily, there were usually signs that pointed him in the right direction saying which roads went where. So far, he hadn't really gone off course from going straight east from the draw bridge of Castle Town (which he had to jump across since it had been broken in half) so even on forks that had no sign, he just continued east.  
He stopped in the center of a large dirt patch where the road split into three different paths. One continued east, one went south, and the other went southeast towards what Link could tell was desert. An old, slightly broken sign stuck in the ground in front of him, he had to brush off some dust to read it, but some parts were still missing. The one pointing east read: LAKE HYLIA. He could tell pretty easily it was Lake Hylia. The one pointing southeast was the easiest one to read since it was the most intact. It read: GERUDO VALLEY. Link was absolutely certain that he did NOT want to go southeast. But it was the one pointing south that interested him the most, especially since it was getting so late and he needed a place to sleep. This thought almost made him laugh. He wouldn't think that he could be even remotely tired after sleeping for seven years. The sign pointing south read: LON LON RANCH, by far the hardest to read out of all three since it looked like someone had purposely scratched it out, but it was easy enough for Link to figure out what the missing letters were. The path that led south was the path to Lon Lon Ranch, and he could barely see the top of the dirt walls around it over the hills. He turned around to see how far he had come, he could just make out the blackness that hovered over Castle Town. He sighed. Even in its demolished state, he found himself missing the town more and more.


	11. The Unspeakable Ensues

CHAPTER 11  
The Unspeakable Ensues

During the hours of the day in the abandoned Market of Hyrule, the sun had little power. Even its bright, warm rays could not penetrated the shroud of darkness that hung over the town and its surrounding areas. But night, on the other hand, had a great effect. The clouds of dust, ash, and smoke already made day seem like night in this place, but during the time when night actually fell, it was like a place where you would see darkness literally choking out anything bright.  
The alleys were darker yet, although you would think it impossible, and it was for this reason that Ganondorf chose to remain there. He sat leaned against a wall, covered in an old, tattered blanket, just waiting. He had been sitting here for hours ever since he learned that Link had left the Temple, but he had seen no signs of the boy. His dark yellow eyes glared underneath the blanket over his head as he watched the square endlessly. He was thinking on leaving back to his tower to kill the knight who had told him that Link had come back, it was then that he saw something moving in the darkness outside the alley. It was easy enough for Ganondorf to tell that it was a person, he could barely see his face. He grinned under the blanket as the person came closer and he saw just what he looked like. At first, Ganondorf had thought that Link might have left the Market, and he was right, but now he had come back for whatever reason. He walked cautiously through the square and towards the Temple, taking many glances around him.  
Ganondorf cackled, doing his best to cover up his own voice and make himself sound like an old man. He smirked as he saw Link stop and turn towards him.  
"Who's there?" he asked. Ganondorf groaned as if he was in pain as Link walked up to him warily.  
"Oooh, its all gone.. All of it, turned to ash and blown away.." Ganondorfs old man voice spoke. Link came closer, stepping over bits of debris as he walked towards the man. " All of it, it was all  
Ganondorfs doing. I was there, I remember." Said the mans voice, a bit louder. Link slowly walked into the alley and over to him.  
"Are you alright, man?" he asked. Ganondorf ignored his question. "The little boy with the forest clothes, it was his fault! He let Ganondorf into the Sacred Realm!" the old man paused. "Didn't you?" Ganondorf looked up at Link with a cruel grin and suddenly sprung from his sitting position. Link quickly drew his sword but Ganondorf kicked it out if his hand swiftly. He tried to run from the alley, dashing from Ganondorf as fast as he could. Ganon stuck out his booted foot and tripped him, laughing as he crashed to the ground. He slowly walked over and stood in front of Link lying on the ground, he chuckled darkly as Link began to stand back up.  
"I'm amazed you came back, I thought you had taken one look at this place and left. But it seemes you are truly ignorant of the power darkness possesses." Ganondorf laughed. "But I guess I owe you thanks, after all, its because of you that I was able to turn this place into a pile of wood and broken stone." Link looked up at him, and Ganon saw his face a little clearer. He thought he saw something, but shook it off as a trick of the light (or darkness, as it was).  
"Yeah, I know you…" Link began. "You're that freak they call Ganondorf." he said. Ganons eye twitched with a sudden anger that began to make his blood boil as Link stood up and casually brushed himself off. " And I think you may be as stupid as you are ugly, because I have no idea what you're talking about!" Link said. Ganondorf gritted his teeth in fury and he dove at the boy, clenching his neck in his fist and slaming him against the wall behind him.  
"How DARE you speak to me with such disrespect! I am your KING! I don't care what the prophesy says, you are no hero! You are nothing but a little brat with a power that belongs to ME!…"Ganondorf stopped talking immediately as his gaze came closer to the boys face. His blood suddenly ran cold, this was not Link. His eyes were blood red and his hair pure white. Dink saw the look on Ganons face and smiled connivingly. "…Who are you?!" Ganondorf asked in a stunned tone.  
At that moment a pain began to surge throughout his hand. It burned and crawled up his arm like fire. He tried to take his hand from the boys neck but he couldn't let go. Dinks smile vanished, he too felt the pain. He winced, clenching his fists and closing his eyes tightly.  
"What is this?! I command you to stop!" Ganondorf yelled.  
"You! Let me go, you freak!" Dink gasped, the pain was becoming greater. A bright light shone from two different places, one from Ganondorfs hand, and the other from Dinks. He looked down, his Triforce shone uncontrollably. But what shocked him was that the same symbol shone on the boys hand, he had the last piece, but how? Ganondorf grasped his burning arm with his free hand, the pain causing them both to shake. Suddenly Dinks whole body jerked and he shot his gaze towards the sky. Ganondorf was becoming angry and frantic as he continued to try and free his arm from the boys neck, he wanted no part in what was taking place. He didn't know what was happening, and his hand continued to burn.  
A black shadow began to stretch from Dinks neck where Ganondorf held him, it spread all around him. Ganondorfs eyes became wide with horror. At that moment, Dink let out a terrible scream of pain and closed his eyes, the shadow had now covered almost his entire body, Ganondorf could just barely see him in his grasp.  
And then he stopped, and all was silent. Ganondorf could no longer see him or even feel him in his grasp. His Triforce symbol had ceased to shine, and he couldn't see the boys either, he just wasn't there. His hand was free now, but it was blistered and burnt from where he had touched the boys neck. He looked down to the ground where Dinks sword still lay, he picked it up and looked at it. A sudden feeling of panic drenched him as he saw what the blade looked like. It was the Master Sword, which he flung to the ground in horror. There it lay on the stone ground, but he felt nothing as he should have. The sword had not hurt him. How could this be, he thought. He picked it up again carefully by its hilt and looked at it closely. In its first impression, this looked exactly like the Master Sword, but in fact it was not, as Ganondorf now realized. It was not a vivid and glowing blue, nor did the blade shine with an unnatural white glow. It was a pure and sleek black, even the blade itself. Ganondorf was amazed as he continued to stare at every detail of the sword.  
Then suddenly the blade simply vanished from within his grasp in a swirl of black fog. No one had taken it, no one had touched it as he saw, it was just gone. He was motionless for a moment as shock and amazement was replaced with anger. He was now determined to find out who, why, and where that boy was.

Half an hour, maybe more, had passed since Link found himself facing towards Lon Lon Ranch, and he could now touch the smooth dirt walls that encircled it. It looked basically the same as it had when Malon had first brought him and Dink here so long ago., although one thing had changed. The sign above the entrance to the ranch read 'Ingo's Ranch', not 'Lon Lon Ranch'. Links hopes of finding a familiar face here fell quite low, but he figured he may still find a place to stay for the night.  
He walked up the dirt ramp and through the short passageway that led into the ranch. As he drew nearer to the open corral and the buildings beside it, he heard a soft sound. Over the night sound of crickets in the grass all around him, he could tell it was a womans voice singing beautifully. The sun had now completely set, and it began to get darker and darker. He could barely see someone standing in the middle of the large, rought-iron corral. He stopped near a window to the house where Talon and Malon once lived, he didn't see either of them, but a fire burnt cozily in the fireplace and an empty plate and cup sat on the table. He continued on to the corral where the woman stood, her voice still carrying smoothly in the cool air. Many horses lay about in the fenced-in area, one of them, a large, reddish brown horse with white hair, the girl stood next to. Her back was facing him as she continued to sing, Link found it very soothing. He stopped behind her, not wanting to talk, but to keep listening.  
"Excuse me?.." he said quietly. She and about eight other horses around her jumped up in fright even though he tried not to seem to sudden. He flinched as she turned towards him quickly, her eyes wide with surprise. The horse beside her continued to whinnie, not in irritation or shock, but happily.  
"Wh-… Link?…" the girl asked as she took a step towards him and Link could see her face better.  
"Malon?" Link wasn't really asking, he now recognized her quite easily. Malon jumped up again, this time with excitement, and literally flung herself onto him with a hug. He almost fell backwards as she squeezed him and laughed.  
"Link! It IS you!" she giggled loudly. "Its been so long! Where have you been?! I cant believe you're really here, I'm so happy!" she said.  
"It's a long story. Ha, I can't believe you're still here! I though you had left with your dad!" Link said. Malon let him go and stood in front of him.  
"Yeah, I'm still here. But my dad isn't, not after what Mr. Ingo did." Malon didn't seem so happy anymore.  
"Mr. Ingo? So he's the one who changed the name of the Ranch, but why?" Link asked her. She sighed, at that moment the horse she had been standing next to came over to them and began nibbling on Links hair happily. Malon giggled as Link tried to get the horse to stop.  
"Well, I can't believe she still remembers you." She said with a smile. "Epona's gotten so much bigger, hasn't she?"  
"Epona? Wow! She really has! This is Epona?!" Link smiled as Epona now nuzzled her face against his. Malon nodded.  
"She's big enough for you to ride her now, if you still want her."  
"Of course!" Link said. Malon lost her smile again as she looked worriedly towards the house. "What?" Link asked her.  
"Come on, lets go into the stables." She told him as she began to walk towards the gate of the corral. Link followed, and Epona followed Link.  
The stables were almost empty, there was only one horse and three cows in their own stalls. Tyron's stall was empty, as Link saw when he looked towards where his mothers horse once had been.  
"He died.." Malon said as she saw Link looking at the stall. He looked back towards her. "Three years ago, asleep in his stall. Epona was heartbroken, this is the happiest I've seen her since." Malon explained. Link was saddned at this news, and stroked Epona's neck gently. "We buried him in the far east corner of the Ranch, I put a carrot on his grave almost every day, when I think Mr. Ingo wont notice. Malon said as she sat on a crate beside an empty stall. Link sat on a bag of Cuccoo food and leaned against the wall as Epona lay down beside him.  
"What's with this Ingo guy, wasn't he your dads Ranch hand?" Link asked. Malon nodded.  
"He was, until Ganondorf killed the King and took over the land." Malon began. " I didn't think he would care about a tiny little ranch in the middle of a vast field, but once he had control, Mr. Ingo went to him and asked if he would give the Ranch to him. He agreed, and Mr. Ingo completely changed. He became greedy and selfish, he sold or killed all the horses that he thought were 'inferior' or 'not up to standards'. Tyron and Epona were the two he favored the most, just because of their breed and rarity in their color. He was… well, still is… planning to give Epona to Ganondorf as a gift for giving him this ranch. I wont have that, I would rather see her run away from Hyrule forever than in Ganondorfs stables. I'm glad you still want her, now she can leave here with someone she loves and not have to be sent away to a place where I know she would be treated cruelly." Malons tone seemed to be gaining hints of anger as she spoke. " Mr. Ingo ordered that my dad leave and never return, but he kept me as a ranch hand. I do all the work while he sits in my house and wallows in money." a tear ran down her face. "…I miss him… If he were here he could stop him… you haven't seen him, have you?" she asked.  
"No, I haven't. Where did Ingo send him?" Malon shook her head.  
"No, not my father. I see him regularly, he lives in Kakariko now." she told him. "I meant Dink… do you know where he is?" Link was silent, he wished he had better news for her. He shook his head.  
"I haven't seen him in seven years…" Malon hung her head, wiping her face with the back of her hand as she sniffled. Epona lifted her head and looked towards the girl.  
"I guess he's never coming back." she said lowly, then laughed a little, her voice was shaky. "You know, I know it may seem silly, but even though we were only children when we met, we only knew each other for a day, and I havent seen his face or heard his voice in seven years… I still love him… I still wish he were here with me." she smiled longingly. " Even if he is.. Different…" she finished with an odd expression of mystery on her face.  
"I saw him during the battle in the market.." Link told her. She looked up at him quickly, a look of anticipation in her eyes.  
"I don't even remember what you said to me then, but I remember seeing you with the soldier… where were you?" she asked.  
"I was in the…" Link was cut off by the sudden sound of a door opening quickly outside. Both he and Malon shot their gazes towards where the noise had come from.  
"MALON?! WHERE ARE YOU, GIRL?!" came a mans voice. "GET IN HERE AND CLEAN UP NOW!" he yelled, and slammed the door. Malon frowned and glared towards the place his voice had come from, then she looked at Link, Epona still lying beside him.  
"I have to go. Every time I disobey or do something wrong, he punishes the animals for it. He wont touch me though, he still has at least some respect for me." Malon stood up and began walking towards the door, Link also stood up as she passed him. " If you need a place to stay for the night, you can sleep in here. I'm sorry I cant offer you a room in the house, but Mr. Ingo wouldn't stand for it. He wont notice you in here, he rarely comes in here anymore. He says the manure-covered dirt of a barn is not worthy enough for his feet to fall on." Malon rolled her eyes. "Um, it would be best if you left as soon as dawn comes, there are crates here full of fruit and vegetables, feel free to take as many as you like…" she paused, and ran towards him to give him another hug. "I'm so happy you're alive, Link. I wish you could stay here for longer so we could talk some more, I hope to see you again." she smiled at him as she turned to leave the stables. "And don't forget, Epona loves carrots, and if you get a chance, she also loves that melody I was singing when you found me. If you remember it, play it for her someday. Her saddle and gear is in the trunk beside Tryon's stall. Goodbye Link, goodbye Epona." she smiled and shut the door as she left.

The next morning, Link awoke to the sound of a Cuccoo crowing loudly right outside. Light was beginning to shine through a small hole in the roof above him, it was already passed dawn. He jumped up from the pile of straw on which he lay, pulling his sheath strap over his shoulder and buckling it quickly. He stumbled out of the stall he was in as he pulled on his boots. Epona lifted her head up from her place in an open stall right across from him, she looked at him and snorted, plopping her head back onto the straw as if to say "It's too early, I'm not getting up" Link fitted his gauntelts back on and walked over to Eponas stall.  
"Come on, Epona, we have to go!" Link said quietly to the sleeping horse, who huffed as if she understood him and slowly stood up. Link opened the trunk that Malon had told him Eponas saddle was in, and pulled it out. It was heavy, and he had never handled a saddle before. He was about to put it on her back when she stepped away from it and towards the open trunk. She reached her head in and grabbed a thick blanket with her mouth.  
"Epona, what are you doing? don't eat that!" Link said to the horse, who turned towards him and dropped the blanket on his head. Link set the saddle down and pulled it off, looking at the horse with an irritated sigh. Then he noticed she was standing perfectly still, almost as if she were waiting for him to do something.  
"The blanket first?" he asked her, somehow not feeling weird to be talking to a horse. Epona looked at him and then looked away, still waiting. Link grabbed the corners of the blanket and tossed them over her back, smoothing out the wrinkles. Epona didn't move, she seemed happier now that he had gotten it right.  
"NOW the saddle?" Link asked. Epona whinnied. He took that as a yes and picked up the saddle, lifting it over Eponas back and sliding it on. Its straps hung down her back, two on each side, the two on his side having buckles on them. He kneeled down and buckled them tightly, then stood back up.  
"Now what? Oh yeah, the reighns." Link remembered. Before he could reach into the trunk, Epona had already grabbed the reighns from inside it and handed them to him.  
"Well these look pretty self explanatory." he said, Epona turned to face him, she had done this many times. Link slid the round strips of leather over her mouth and nose, hooking the reighns to the mouth piece and tightening the straps behind her ears. Everything looked ready to go, so Link took the horse by the reighns and headed for the door. Epona wouldn't move, she stood unbudged in the dirt and waited for him to stop pulling.  
"What is it?" Link asked her. Epona looked towards a stack of crates and Link smacked the top of his head. "Of course, I'm sorry girl." he said as he opened one of the crates and began taking out some food for each of them. His arm was full of apples, carrots, lettuce, plums, and a head of cabbage, he looked around him. "What to put it in..?" he asked himself. Epona held a brown cloth sack in her mouth and held her head towards him. Link took the bag. Replacing it with a carrot in her mouth. "Thank you" he said. Epona made a happy sound with her lips as she chewed the carrot.  
Link opened the door to the stables leading Epona out by her reighns, the bag of food strapped securely to the back of the saddle. Malon walked about busily in the kitchen through the window right across from him, she stopped suddenly as she saw him. She was holding a pan of bread with oven mitts on her hands, her apron covered with flour. Link mouthed the words 'good morning' to her, she smiled and did the same.  
"Malon, is my breakfast ready yet?!" he heard Ingo's voice growl from the upstairs bedroom. Malons smile vanished quickly as she looked up towards where Ingo was and then back at Link. The look on her face said 'hurry, he's coming!' Link took the message clearly and nodded at her. She set the bread on the table and waved to him sadly as he passed by the window. He walked briskly towards the exit of the Ranch, making sure to keep the metal on Epona's gear from clanking around too much.

A lone horse and rider stood atop the plateau overlooking the field, gazing intently at his surroundings. The sun rose at his back, lighting up the dark horizon above the peaks of the Ominous Mountain range many, many miles to the west. The sky was completely cloudless but for the continuous blackness that hung above Castle Town to the northeast. Something moving through the field to his left caught his eye, another rider, whose weapon strapped to his back flashed a quick and blinding flare of light as it caught the sun. He rode quickly down the path, looking like just a small mouse as far apart as they were. Something about this rider seemed to put a hook in this persons memory and tug on it annoyingly. He couldn't place it, but it seemed to him that he knew who this person was, even though he could just barely see him.  
He watched this rider intently until he disappeared behind a hill, going out of his sight completely. Two other riders approached him from behind, one a fourteen year old boy, and the other the boys father.  
"Terrian, we're heading out. Kakariko is about a half a days ride from here, I want to get there by two at the latest. Where did you say you were heading?" the man asked. Terrian continued to stare towards where the rider had vanished through the grassy hills, and sighed.  
"I'm not sure yet, but I was thinking about maybe checking out the lake." he said, thinking that he might get a chance to follow that rider.  
"We'll see you at Kakariko then?" asked the boy beside him. Terrian nodded at him.  
"See you there." he said.  
"Alright, bye Terrian!"  
"Be safe, Terrain, see you when you get to the village!"  
"Bye Bomber, don't worry Anthan, I'll be fine!" Terrian called to them as they rode down the steep slope of the plateau towards the field.  
The boy and his father became smaller and smaller as they rode past a few broken fences that had once been part of Lon Lon Ranch, and disappeared behind the Ranch itself. Terrian took up his horses reighns and steered it towards the other side of the plateau where a trail began that would lead him towards the lake.


	12. Deep Roots in Lake Hylia

CHAPTER 12  
Deep Roots in Lake Hylia

Link stood beside Epona on a small cliff on the edge of the lake, where a long bridge went from the bank to an island in its center. He had to shield his eyes from the brightness of the sparkles in the water that reflected back the morning sun. It was a beautiful place, so calm and peaceful. Link saw a fisherman alone in a boat getting in a few lines to start the day. Epona stood beside him with her head to the ground, casually taking bites of the green, dew-covered grass that glittered in the sunlight.  
He saw no temple, in fact, he only saw three buildings at all. One right beside him, and two far across the lake. None of them looked anything like a temple, although one of the buildings across the lake did look quite nice. At this time Link remembered exactly what Sheik had said, that the temple was at the lakes bed. He looked down into the deep water that became dark very fast, how in the world would he get down to the lake bed?  
The fisherman to his left in the middle of the lake began to row, and he waved towards Link friendily when he caught his eye. Link waved back, he could see that the fisherman was coming towards him. He let Eponas reighns go so that she could graze freely as the man in the boat came close enough that they could just hear each other.  
"That's a beautiful horse you have there, son!" the fisherman called to him with a smile.  
"Thank you, sir! Her name's Epona" Link said back, Epona lifted her head quickly and trotted back to him at the sound of her name. She nuzzled his back with her nose and rested her head on his shoulder. The fisherman laughed at the horses behavior.  
"I've only ever seen one other horse that behaved that way, so loyal and smart, and he lived right over there where I do now." the fisherman pointed towards the lovely house across the lake. "Well I'm about to dock up, why don't you meet me over there where there's less of a cliff and we'll get properly introduced" the fisherman said to him with a smile. Link nodded slowly, he had thought that the man would just say hello and go about his own business.  
"alright then." he said back. There was something familiar about the way the fishermans face looked when he smiled that made Link feel safer somehow. Epona followed Link to the other side of the building they had been standing next to, where they found the man just exiting his boat and beginning to tie it to a post. Link stopped behind him to wait for him to finish. Even with his back turned to him, Link still found the man familiar somehow. He wiped his hands off on his pants and turned around with a smile, but then stopped for a moment when he caught Links eyes with his own. He walked up to him and held out his hand, still staring at him oddly.  
"The name's Joriah, I'm nothing but a lowly local fisherman with a fancy house." he said, looking at Link as if he was trying to figure something out. Link grasped the mans outstretched hand.  
" I'm Link, I'm, uh, I guess you could say I'm kind of local. I was born here somewhere." Link told him. They shook hands as they each introduced themselves. At that moment Joriahs expression changed from trying to figure something out, to a look of realization.  
"Link, huh? Born here at the lake, huh?" Joriah sounded quite interested in this info. "Well, how about I show you the house? I have a feeling you'll be very interested in the story behind it, not to mention I bet neither of us have had a good breakfast yet." Joriah told him. Link thought about it, after all, Sheik had said that these things needed to be done sooner rather than later. But then he figured, what the heck? What was an hour more compared to seven years?

The open area on which the two buidlings stood was much larger than Link could have seen from where he was standing on the bank. There was a wide open space behind the two buildings where stood a large but empty corral and another fenced-in area. The rest was just a wide open meadow filled with lush green grass and wildflowers. Yet for its serenity and beauty, the place looked very sad and lonely. Link could tell that this had once been a very large ranch where many animals had lived, but now only one spotted and light-grey horse stood in the field.  
Joriah helped Link take off Eponas gear so that she could go and graze with Poe, as Joriah had told Link the grey horses name was. They walked to the barn where Joriah hung Eponas saddle and reighns up on the wall. There were over fifty separate stalls in the barn, much more than the barn at Lon Lon Ranch, but all of them were empty. Completely desolate of anything living, but for maybe a mouse or two. Joriah sighed as he too gazed sadly at the empty stalls.  
"It may be hard to believe, looking at it now, but this place was once the largest and most lively horse ranch in eastern Hyrule. Well, all of Hyrule for that matter, since at the time Hyrule was still at war with the Western Provinces and the land was still divided." Joriah explained to him.  
"That was seventeen years ago, it's been that long?" Link asked. Joriah nodded solemnly.  
"It was actually the last battle of that war that sealed the fate of this ranch, when its owners were killed during the battle and their son was lost. So the land passed to my own son, who was the very best of friends with all of them." Joriah laughed. " Quite a pair, he and the owner of this place, they had been pals since I and my wife moved here and my son was only three. So my son wasn't born here, actually theres only been one baby born here in the past sixty years, and my own son had been made to be that babys Godfather." he explained. A smile crept onto Links face, he now realized why this man seemed so familiar.  
"You're Idiens father." Link stated, it was pretty obvious. Joriah nodded with a proud smile.  
"And you're Darins son." Joriah stated. Link also nodded proudly. "You know, I knew it was you the moment I saw you. Those strong blue eyes always gave Darin away, that, I especially knew. His eyes gave you away, since you seem to have gotten them." he told Link. Joriah then walked passed him and towards the door that led outside. "Before my old mind forgets, I have to show you something. Now I know from the way you're equipped that you're on a mission, whatever it is, its none of my business if you can't tell me. But this wont take long, come with me." Joriah beckoned Link out of the barn and began leading him towards the large house. They entered through a door with stained glass windows and into a cozy looking foyer, where many paintings hung on the walls. Joriah walked up a flight of stairs to their right and took hold of one of the paintings, lifting it and removing it from where it hung. He came back down the stairs with the painting, smiling at it as he walked.  
"Now, this isn't completely exact, mind you, but it's the only one there is." Joriah said as he handed Link the painting. Links heart began to race as he looked into the faces of his parents. He needed no explanation, he knew it was them as soon as he laid his eyes on them. Now he knew why so many of the people he met outside of the forest had continuously told him how much he looked like his father. Link had seen himself in a looking glass once, and many times in windows. If his hair were darker and if he had a short rounded mustache and beard, he would look exactly like his father. He could see that his hair came from his mother, in whos arms a little blond haired blued eyed baby lay sleepily.  
"They had this done mere days before the battle, the paint was still a little damp when I heard that they, that all three of you, had been lost." Joriah said. Link lightly brushed his hand across the image of the beautiful, blond haired, green eyed woman holding his tiny infant from.  
"Shes so beautiful…" Link said quietly.  
"She was the prettiest little girl I'd ever seen, Idien thought so, too. He was quite jealous of your father the first time he saw your mother give him a kiss on the cheek. Don't tell him I told you, but Idien had such an unbelievable crush on her before she and your father were married." Joriah laughed. Link couldn't help but laugh with him at the image of Idien's little child-like face, wrinkling his nose and sticking his tounge out behind Darin's back. " Idien may have been a strapping young man, but Anya's heart belonged to Darin. Not to mention the fact that Idien was six years younger than her." Joriah scoffed with a smile. Link handed the painting back to him carefully, taking one last heartfelt glance at his parents as Joriah went back up the stairs to return the painting to its place on the wall.

After Link and Joriah had eaten a full meal of ham and eggs, Link began to feel that he needed to be on his way. It had been over an hour since he had arrived at the fishermans house, and he still needed to figure out a way down to the Temple at the bottom of the lake.  
He had told Joriah that he hadn't seen Idien in seven years and asked if Joriah had seen him lately. He said that he hadn't seen his son in quite a few years, and he didn't know why. He hadn't even received any letters from him, and he wondered if his son was even still alive.  
Link asked Joriah if Epona could be kept at the ranch while he did a few things around the lake. Joriah happily said yes, he was sure Poe would've been sad if she had to leave so soon. Link left the mans house grateful for the filling meal under his belt and the good time spent with a family friend. He thanked him for everything, including the chance to see what his parents looked like for the first time, and ventured off to find the Temple that would lead him to the Sage of Water.

The atmosphere of the cottage was a solemn but anxiously hopeful one. The two Sheikians sat at a table talking quietly for fear of being overheard by undesirable ears.  
"You are certain it was human? It was not an animal?" Impa asked.  
"No, it was definitely a human scream. And there was some faint yelling before it, the voices sounded angry." Sheik said.  
"Voices? There was more than one person?"  
"Yes, of that I am certain. One was him, Ganondorf. His was the voice I heard most often. But the scream was not his, to be honest, Impa, it sounded like Link." Sheik said. Impas face was drained of color and she was very quiet for a moment.  
"You don't think…? Could Link have been caught as he attempted to leave the Market? I know Ganondorf has his creatures patrol the area frequently, could he have been spotted?" Impa wondered desperately. Sheik shook his head.  
"I do not know. It had been more than an hour after Link had left me in the Temple that I heard this taking place. I wouldn't think that he would tarry that long in the town."  
"But even if it was Link and he had been caught, Ganondorf would not kill him, not until he was certain of where the other piece of the Triforce was. This would give us a chance."  
"A chance for what? If Link were captured then there would be no one to defeat Ganondorf. If that was the case, then it would be better if he had killed him. The only chance we would have would be if Link were to somehow escape." Impa was silent for a moment and gazed at the table in deep thought.  
"In any case, I am not sure at all that the scream had come from Link. And if not, then I would need to figure out what poor soul had done something so bad as to have Ganondorf himself venture down from his tower and release such anger upon him. If the person is lucky, he is either dead or escaped, with the latter being the less likely of the two." Sheik said regretfully. " If Link has in fact made it passed the shadow of Castle Town, then he will now be at the lake. All we can do now is wait." Sheik finished. Impa sighed uneasily, worried still that Link hadn't made it out of the dark gloom that was now smothering Castle Town.

A tall dead tree towered above Link as he stood atop the small island in the center of Lake Hylia. He gazed thoughtfully at its bare, lifeless limbs, not really paying any attention to the tree but still wondering how in the world he was supposed to swim down to the bottom of the lake. He shielded his eyes from the bright morning sun that continued to climb into the sky, ebbing closer and closer to the middle of the day. A large square stone protruded from the ground beside the tree, Link found it odd that he only now noticed it. He stepped up to the stone which he now saw had writing on its flat top, and began to read. The inscription read:

To see a way beneath the waves  
Stand here by mornings light  
Connect the three, the sun and thee  
and the island in your sight.

"Why can't it just tell me? Why does it always have to be in a mysterious rhyming riddle?" Link thought aloud to himself. He was getting irritated, but this riddle seemed to be pretty easy. He followed its instructions as they were written and looked out towards the sun. He followed a straight line from where it had risen, down to the mountain-covered horizon, and then to the lakes edge. A ways off the bank there was a tiny speck of land that he could tell was a small island. "Alright so I swim there then?" Link thought. He was rather disgruntled. He knew the Temple was at the lakes bottom, but he was hoping greatly that there would be an entrance to it that would not require any getting wet on his part. So obviously he now had to get in the lake and swim to the little island with all his gear on, which would make it all the more challenging since his sword and shield were made of heavy, dense metal.  
Water splashed everywhere as he jumped into the lake, creating quite a large wake on the lakes smooth, calm surface. He kicked and paddled to get back to the surface, wishing now that he had gotten in slower. His weapons weighed him down like a rock and he was already tiring just from trying to keep his head above the water. Soon he got into a rhythm that seemed to work by swimming sideways with one arm in front of him and making many quick kicks with both feet to dash through the water. It worked quite well, he swam reasonably fast and it became easier to stay afloat.  
The island was only slightly bigger than he thought it was, though it was still small enough that it just barely qualified as an island. There was a bush in the center of the island which took up a space about four feet in diameter. Around the bush was a stone square with carvings of the Zoras Sapphire on all four corners, letting Link know that this Temple was somehow in association with the Zoras. Link picked through the bush, pulling the branches apart and looking inside it. There was no dirt under it, in fact, it wasn't even growing. Under the dead bush was a metal hatch with large bolts and a round handle. He pulled, it came open quite easily, and he smiled as finally something was going right for him. It was surprisingly relatively bright down the hole under the hatch, it looked like fire light shining from deep within the chamber. A metal ladder led down the opening which he began to climb down, remembering to shut the hatch behind him as he continued on to enter the Temple.


	13. Tricks of Ill Will

CHAPTER 13  
Tricks of Ill Will  
And  
Fates Dreaded Meeting

Terrian pulled himself out of the water and onto the shore of a tiny island where he had watched the person he had been following disappear into the ground. He took off his boots and poured the lake water from them, then slipped them back onto his feet and began to wring out his sleeves and hair. A trail of water led from the bank where the person had emerged to the bush that grew in front of him and then stopped. Terrian already knew that there was an entrance to something under this bush, he had seen the person lift the hatch.  
Steam rolled off his back as the warm sun behind him shone onto his wet clothes. He shivered a little as he looked for the handle to the hatch. Grabbing the round ring of metal he had now found, he yanked it open. The inside of the hatch had the sweet smell of a fresh, crystal clear stream, and had not a hint of the nasty fish smell that Terrian disliked so much but was now drenched in.  
He knew that Bomber and Anthan were going to be waiting for him in Kakariko, but he just wanted to find out who this person was and where in the world this odd hatch led.

Link had no idea how anything in this Temple was going to help him find the Sage of Water. All he saw were doors that lead to more doors and everywhere there were pools of water. Most of them he had to swim through to continue on through the Temple. Many times he heard strange noises that sounded like someone running or sometimes walking through a puddle, but he never saw any form of a living thing in this entire place, not even a fish.  
He came to a door in a place that seemed the emptiest and quietest so far of the sanctuary. He opened it even though something in his mind told him he should just turn around and find a different door to go through.  
Link looked around him. The room he had just entered was one of the largest that he had seen in the entire Temple, but it seemed also to be the most empty. The only visible thing inside was a crooked and dead-looking tree in the center of the room. He stepped towards the tree slowly, and his feet made silent splashes of water as he walked. The entire floor of the room was blanketed in water an inch deep, and his slow movement through it made tiny rolling ripples through his reflection.  
He had an eerie feeling about this room, as if he was being watched from within one of the mist shrouded corners. Silence hung in the air like a menacing threat that numbed his senses, and the very atmosphere of the chamber seemed to be calling out desperate warnings. Still his motion pressed against his better judgment, and he ebbed closer and closer to the middle of the room.  
The tree in the middle looked very out of place, it was tall and narrow with no life on it what so ever. It grew on a small mound of dirt that barely showed through the water, but the dirt itself did not seem to be wet at all. Link stepped past the twisted tree and continued on to the other side of the room, where he hoped he would find a door that would take him out of this place that made him feel so uneasy.  
" Damn." Link said quietly to himself as he reached the door. It was barred shut with no way of getting through. And just when he had thought his luck was beginning to turn.  
As he stood thinking beside the blockaded entrance, a sudden disturbance in the silence of the chamber made every muscle in his body tense. It was just like the other noises he had heard as he went through the first parts of the Temple, but this time it was louder and more pronounced. Now he was certain, there was someone in this place with him.  
Not daring to turn around, he slightly moved his head to the side in an attempt to get a look behind him. It was undeniable that someone or something was there, there was no point in waiting terrified for what ever it was to jump him from behind. Almost without thinking about it, he launched himself around and quickly drew the Master Sword and his shield, ready now for what had found him.  
But there was nothing there, just the tree on its little island and the undisturbed film of water lying peacefully around it. He was sure he had heard the slow movements of footsteps lightly treading through the water behind him.  
Link had learned in his treks as a child through Hyrule that things in dark times were not always as they seemed, and were never to be taken for granted. It was for this reason that he chose not to sheath his weapon.  
Holding the sword tightly at his side he edged forward into the mirror of water, creating many ripples and tides as he walked. Coming closer and closer to the lifeless tree protruding forth from the mount of dark soil, Link noticed something peculiar about the tree that he had not seen on his first pass of it. A strange shadow stretched up the bark but stopped little more than half way up. The vague lighting in this chamber of the temple cast only slight shadows onto the floor, it would have been impossible with the placement of the tree for this to be a natural shadow. Perhaps the bark on this side of the tree was just darker… black almost, Link thought. He stopped nearly ten feet from the tree and looked it over. For no more than a minute Link watched the darkness carefully till he finally had convinced himself that it was nothing more than very dark bark.  
Then suddenly he heard that same sloshing noise once again behind him. He turned around quickly this time, but same as before, nothing was there.  
Something was going on that was not seeming to be for his good, whatever this thing was it was trying to get him worked up. It was working. His heart was racing and his palms were sweating, and a terrible urge in his mind screamed a voice that said he needed to get out of this room. He turned back around towards the tree, anxious to quickly leave this place.  
Suddenly, as he faced forward, he was jerked to a stop by the same dark shadow that had been standing beside the tree, now standing merely inches from his face. He jumped backwards away from it, but the thing was quick. It launched after him, and to Links shock he realized it was armed. It swung a long black-bladed sword swiftly in a horizontal strike at him and Link barely escaped by falling onto his knees. It jumped over him nimbly, and almost unnaturally he landed on the ground not making even the slightest disturbance in the water. Link front-rolled a distance from it and quickly stood up to face it. Suddenly the being fell through the floor, disappearing completely from view. Link looked around him from side to side, wondering how it had just fallen through the solid rock floor. He still didn't see it anywhere. What in the world was this thing? " Show yourself you coward!" Link yelled. His voice bounced off the walls, and like a boomerang, came right back to him and rang in his ears. Adrenaline rushed through his veins and his hair stood on end as his echoing voice sliced through the silence.  
" Coward, huh?, if that's true then we've both been cheated." A dark voice chuckled from behind him. It's very essence was chilling, an unwelcome sound on any occasion, but now it was almost enough to stop his breath. Link turned to face the thing he now knew was at least some what human, and was shocked by what he saw. The person was almost nothing but pure black, he had no depth to him, no shadows to outline his features. It was as if he himself was nothing but a shadow. And his eyes.. His eyes were nothing short of terrifying, but they were somehow familiar. They literally glowed a deep blood red, the only part of him visibly outlined by the darkness of his face. The person chuckled grimly again at Links shock.  
" Who are you?" What are you.. Link thought  
" You seem surprised to see me.." The person said, casually shifting his weight from one foot to the other." Shouldn't I be?" Link asked, trying to hide the fact that his hand shook slightly as it grasped his still-ready sword. the person sighed a little.  
" I can say I'm a bit disappointed. I really expected you to recognize me. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised, after all, you never did see me as anything other than your tag-along shadow.." Then suddenly a shock of realization struck him like a rock in the face. Link couldn't believe his eyes, how could he not have realized this?  
"…Dink?" Link lowered his guard as he gasped the name of his childhood friend. The shadow being chuckled again.  
" Yes, thank you! this is going to be so much more fun now!" Dink laughed, and without any warning, he lunged at Link again. Link barely shielded himself from the attack which had been aiming straight for his face.  
" What are you doing?!" He yelled. Dink did not answer, he instead turned and swung his sword again at Link, this time for his back. Link quickly turned and deterred the blade with his own, causing an ear-splitting noise to erupt from between the two blades at they crashed together. Not the normal sound of metal on metal, but almost a scream. Dink kicked Link backwards with enough force almost to cause him to fall. Link regained his balance and returned unwillingly to a fighting stance. " What happened to you?!" Link asked him.  
" Well, I would call it improvement., but who knows what anyone else would call it." He replied, his mouth not visible but Link could hear the smile in his tone.  
" I don't want to fight you! Why are you doing this?!" Dinks eyes narrowed into a menacing glare at this question.  
" I'll tell you why.." Link heard his smile vanish as he dropped his fighting stance so quickly, flinging his arms down so hard in anger that Link thought he would drop his sword, and he began. " Its for leaving me to rot! Its for deserting me in this wasteland! Its for every second I had to wait for you to come back!" Dink's chilling voice shook with rage now, his crude humor before had left no trace. " I told you not to pull the sword, but you? listen to ME?! As IF! Seven years I waited, with each new year of patience bringing nothing but more decay to this pitiful forsaken kingdom! Well I got tired of waiting.. I decided that if you weren't with me, you were against me, and that really pissed me off. Your destiny was more important than me, your best friend! After everything I've done for you! After all the times I've had to watch your back and make sure you didn't kill us both! You just forgot about me! Well pal, WHO'S THE COWARD NOW?!" Dink screeched, darting with all speed and his sword un-sheathed straight towards Link. He quickly jumped out of Dinks way, flipping to the side and hurriedly returning to his defense position. Dink wasn't phased by his miss, swinging his sword backwards behind him in an attempt to hit Links throat. Link ducked again, almost too late, he felt the blade skim the very top of his head. " Fight back!" Dink growled.  
" No! I won't fight you!" Dinks lividness was clearly shown through his voice.  
With another deep growl he suddenly vanished into the floor as he had before. Link swerved around quickly, searching for where he might come up again. All had gone silent, the only noise being his rapid heart beat pounding in his ears.  
It happened in a split second. Before he hardly knew what hit him, a blade was slicing across his arm as he turned to face Dink standing just feet away from him. He screamed in sheer anguish, dropping his sword into the water. It felt like the blade had been red-hot but frozen at the same time, both blistering and freezing his entire arm. But there was no time to examine the burning wound on his arm as Dink relentlessly swung his sword at him. He blocked them clumsily with his shield, his mind quickly turning into a grey haze and his arm searing in pain. He ducked under a swing and reached for his sword in the water, he felt its hilt with his fingers and almost had it. Dink had no regret in his lifeless expression as he effortlessly knocked the Master Sword out of Links reach. The blade rang unnaturally as it went flying, and Dink lunged his wet boot into Links chest, this time causing him to fall. Link flew backwards and his breath was knocked out of him as he slammed against the dead tree behind him. Dink walked up to his fallen opponent with nothing but vengeance in his merciless eyes.  
He sighed and spoke to Link. " You know, this was no where near as fun as I was hoping it would be. You could have at least fought back a little, just a swing or two was all I wanted." He said, to Links shock, he sounded very truly disappointed. Not because Link now visibly looked as if he was on the edge of death or something close to it, but just because he refused to fight against his best friend. " But no, you were just too lame! You had to do the whole 'Hero' thing, nobly refusing to fight me just 'cause I'm Dink." Dink grunted, sounding like an eight-year-old arguing with his parents. Links mind was becoming more and more clouded with every second he sat there on the cold floor. Dinks voice seemed very distant, almost like he was talking to him from across a small field. But It was only a cut, just a slice on his arm, nothing that could cause him to feel the way he did now. What surprised and puzzled Link even more was the fact that Dink was showing no signs of getting the wound himself. He wasn't hurt at all, but how could that be? The shadowy figure of Dink towering over him seemed little more than a black fog through his clouded eyes.  
Another dark chuckle rumbled in Dinks throat. " Well pal, I guess this is one destiny you weren't destined to fulfill. With you gone, I'll get the Triforce of Courage all to myself, and not have to settle for a puny half. You're doing me a real favor buddy, really. Maybe you can find justification for your death there, after all, I am your best friend." Dink almost laughed, raising his sword above him without hesitation to rid himself of Link forever. Link closed his eyes weakly. There was nothing he could do to stop him, he could barely move as whatever kind of poison was spreading rapidly from the open wound on his arm. This was his end, he was sure of it. To accept it was all he could do.  
The blade came down.  
But Link felt nothing. Instead he heard the shrill sound of metal on metal, a sound that made him gasp for breath. The clang echoed off the distant walls, making it seem like there were twenty other people in the chamber tolling their blades against rocks. Link opened his eyes to see what had happened, to find out what had saved him. He was shocked to find another person there keeping Dinks blade within less than a foot of Links head.  
"Humph…" Dink huffed, irritated, but for some reason not surprised. Link couldn't make out the persons features, but from what he could tell, it was a boy about his age with short brown hair wearing a dark blue tunic, green mail, and brown boots. A swordsman wielding two identical blades, one of which had just saved Links life.  
" Now Terrian why'd you have to go and ruin all my fun like that?" Dink whined.  
" You OK Link?" Terrian asked, paying no attention to Dinks heartless question but being sure not to take his eyes off of him.  
Terrian. That was a name Link hadn't heard in over seven years. He recalled the nine-year-old boy that he had met so long ago in Kakariko Village. The same whose sword skills he had been especially impressed with and whose father Link had watched be stricken down during the first battle of the Imprisoning War. The last he had seen of him, he had taken off on horseback towards Ganondorf, and everyone assumed the worst when he didn't return. Link was shocked even more to realize that this grown warrior was that same little boy.  
Dink suddenly knocked Terrians sword away from his own and stepped back away from Link, all the while Terrian kept his eyes fixed on him.  
" Funny, you showing up just at the right time to interrupt me. Isn't that how it always works though? And now we battle to the death and blah-blah-blah, the good guy saves the other good guy if he wins and the bad guy kills them both if he wins." Dink seemed quite annoyed. " You know, you good guys are always so predictable." He huffed. " Ah! I forgot, where are my manners? We haven't been properly introduced yet." Link could again hear the sarcastic smile in Dinks voice as he spoke to Terrian.  
" No need to waste what little manners you may or may not actually have, I just stopped you from impaling one of my friends with a sword. I really don't care who you are, and right now I'd like to do the same to you."  
" Well OK then, lets get this over with. A kid like you shouldn't be too hard to knock down. But Just to warn you, I don't play fair."  
" Wasn't counting on it.." Terrian twirled each sword in his hands and took a battle stance. Dink chuckled and dropped through the floor again, appearing quickly and suddenly in and out of view all over the chamber. It was as if there were ten different shadows that were identical to Dink disappearing and reappearing all over the place. Terrians gaze jumped from left to right all around him, his heart pounding harder with every appearance Dink made in front of him.  
He suddenly gasped as Dink appeared finally less than a foot in front of his face. He stepped away swiftly, blocking his face with his two blades as Dinks sword came crashing down to him.  
" Quick reflexes.." Dink said to him. It wasn't quite a compliment, but more like a happy acknowledgement of a fair challenge. Dink seemed to be enjoying his taunting very much, and laughed as Terrian struggled to keep his menacing black blade merely inches away from his face. Suddenly Terrian launched towards him, sending Dink backwards as his two blades flung Dinks up as he held it. "Now its on!" Dink laughed. He lunged a horizontal stab attack straight for Terrians middle, which Terrian nimbly back-flipped to dodge. "Nice!" Dink laughed. Dink recoiled his arm. Terrian very quickly flipped both of his blades as he fluently double sliced towards Dinks chest.  
Both Terrian and Link were shocked beyond belief to see that Dink made no attempt at avoiding the blows, and instead stood motionless. Then, at the very last second, Dink shot his arms into the air in a shadowy blur, deterring the swords with his shield and spinning around to meet Terrians unaccomplished blades with his own.  
The move was simple, but effective. Terrian was totally caught off guard by Dinks brief lack of reaction, and now a little mixed up by his sudden spring. He was knocked onto one knee as one of his swords was flung with extreme force from his hand, clanging against a far wall and splashing onto the floor. Terrian regained his nerves and swung for Dinks legs, paying no mind to his lost sword. Dink had reflexes enough to lift one leg, but the other came directly into contact with Terrians blade.  
The sword seemed to just pass through him like a stick through smoke, but still Dink yelled in pain. He fell backwards onto his behind and almost landed on the Master Sword, which he kicked repulsively towards Link. Terrian stood up and watched him carefully, this could be another trick, and Terrian was taking no chances. Dink lay down onto his back, breathing heavily and closing his eyes.  
Link was still barely conscious and watched them both tensely, lifting one of his legs to try and pull his sword a little closer to him. He didn't even know who he wanted to win. Terrian had saved him from Dink, but Dink was still his best friend. He had to believe there was a way to get him back, he didn't want this to be a fight to the death of either of them.  
Terrian took one cautious step towards Dink still lying in the water, his injured leg kneed up but not even looking cut.  
"Hey, you… are you done?" Terrian asked  
"Ha…"Dink laughed at him. Then as Terrian took another step towards him, Dink suddenly vanished into the floor once again. Both Terrian and Link couldn't help but gasp, he did it so quickly. Terrian looked around him without moving, thinking of going to retrieve his sword but then thinking he shouldn't go too far from Link.  
Three minutes passed, they both thought he was gone. Not a sign of him had been seen or heard since he vanished.  
"Was that it? All that talk of vengeance and he just disappears after he gets a cut on the leg?" Terrian turned to Link, who looked as if he was already out, and shook his head. "What a guy." he said to himself, and began walking to get his sword.  
There was a loud swoosh of wind and Terrians hair stood on end as he was forced to a sudden halt. Link opened his eyes when he heard Terrian give a slight surprised yell.  
Terrian dare not move an inch for fear the blade across his neck would go any deeper than just above his skin. Dink had him pinned, rendering him totally motionless, the blade pressing against his skin both burning and freezing his neck as Dink held it. He chuckled in Terrians ear.  
"A new rule to live by, mister swordsman. If an opponent is not dead, don't let your guard down." Dink whispered. Terrian was silent, cringing as the poisonous metal seared his flesh. He hardly dared to breathe. "You seriously thought you'd get rid of me that easy? You're as naïve as Link!" Dink laughed. "You know, Terrian, I'm sick and tired of you and all these other noble heroes who think they can solve all the worlds problems by doing the right thing." he sighed. "But you know, lucky for me, I have my own personal hero-slayer to rid the world of what it needs the least, a bunch of over-confident, big-man, come-to-the-rescue little kids that believe everything that's told to them." Dink nodded towards the sword across Terrians neck. " I was going to make it all dramatic and kill Link first, just because I thought I'd get a kick out of killing the person I tried so hard to protect. But since you're in the crosshairs already, consider your self honored to be the first one to die." Dinks smile was audible as he patted Terrians shoulder. "Goodbye Terrian…"  
The blade moved quickly.  
"NO!" Link managed to yell out as he saw what took place. They both stood motionless until Dink fell slowly to his knees and then onto his back, Terrians sword sticking through him. He wasn't breathing, he had dropped his sword, his eyes were closed, he was gone. Link was breathless, and he still couldn't move very well or he would have gone and punched Terrian in the face a few times.  
Terrian stood over Dinks motionless body and pulled out his sword, holding his free hand to his neck. Link saw blood quickly covering Terrians hand and running down his chest. He looked over towards Link, his eye lids looked heavy and his legs looked weak. Whatever kind of poison that had infected Link was now spreading quickly through Terrian, and the fact that Dinks sword had managed to make a slice in his neck before he fell, wasn't helping Terrian at all. Terrian slowly walked towards Link, not bothering to go and pick up his other sword. Link looked from him to Dink and back again, his face frozen with shock. Terrians blood now ran down his arm and began to drip off his elbow, turning the watery floor red behind him.  
He reached down to Link and grasped one of his hands to pull him up off the ground. Link had no choice, he couldn't be angry at Terrian for protecting himself, Dink would have killed him if he hadn't.  
"I'm sorry Link,…I'm very sorry." Terrian said weakly as he pulled Link off the mound of dirt. Link grasped the handle of the Master Sword at his side and suddenly jolted. Terrian quickly let go of his arm and stared at him, his hand still held around his neck. A hot surge of energy flowed up Links arm, both soothing and powerful. It seemed to push out the poison from his entire body and replace it with life. He could stand by himself now, the dark poison was gone. He looked down at the sword, the blade was glowing slightly. The cut itself had not been healed, it still bled.  
"It's the sword, Terrian…" He said. Terrian didn't reply. Link looked up at him, his face was pale and he rocked back and forth on his weak legs that looked like they would give out any second.  
"…Link…I'm sorry… I'm very sorry." He repeated, and his legs collapsed. Link reached out quickly to catch him before he hit the floor. He lay him down gently and held him in a sitting position.  
"Here, hold the sword, grab its handle!" Link told him, putting the Master Sword in his hand. Terrians body jolted and he inhaled deeply, the blade in his hand glowing again. But he didn't get up, he instead closed his eyes and dropped the sword.  
"Terrian?…Terrian!" Link shook him.  
It was just the same as it had been for him. The power of the evil destroying Master Sword had rid his body of the poison from Dinks evil blade, but it had not healed the wound on Terrians neck. He was still losing blood.  
Link grabbed the Master Sword and Terrians remaining sword and sheathed them both, putting his arms under Terrians and picking him up off the floor. He put one arm around his shoulders and carried him towards the entrance of the chamber. Terrian could still move his legs, but just barely. The color in his face was now almost completely gone.  
They stopped at the doorway briefly and Link looked back to where Dink had fallen. He lay there lifeless still, never to move again.  
"Goodbye Dink…" He said, and left the chamber carrying Terrian out on his shoulders.


	14. What is Hidden in the Darkness

CHAPTER 14  
What is Hidden in the Darkness

Terrian awoke in a warm, fire-lit chamber, the flame flickering in the torches cast eerie shadows in the deep corners of the walls. This place, he identified as a cave, was large and delicately carved from the stone, he didn't recognize where exactly he was though.  
He heard whispers coming from somewhere, and a loud roar, that sounded like water, reverberated all around him. He moved his eyes around and saw the back of Links head to his right.  
"I had Fedity put Epona and Terrians horse in our stables, they'll be fine." a girls voice said. There was a quiet pause until he heard Link speak, very silently and faintly.  
" What were you doing at the lake?" Link whispered.  
"I was sent there by my father to pray in the Temple for the healing of Hyrule. But it seems my prayers were answered before I even said them. Oh I missed you, Link. You have no idea how hard it has been here without you." said the girl.  
"Ruto, my best friend was just killed. Right now I could care less about Hyrule."  
Terrians heart froze and his blood ran cold. That shadow creature he had just saved Link from was Links best friend? It couldn't be…but then, who else would Link have been talking about? He was so shocked by what Link had just said that he hadn't even noticed that he had stopped breathing as these thoughts of panic flooded his mind.  
"I think he's awake." the girls voice said to Link as he looked over towards Terrian. Links face was grave, and the look he gave Terrian as they faced each other was enough to make him have to turn away. They knew he was awake, there was no point now in pretending to be asleep. Terrian inched his way up to a sitting position and felt the wound on his neck, he was shocked to find that there was nothing there but undamaged skin.  
The person with Link was a Zora, she walked over to his bedside leaving Link to sit on the other bed.  
"Welcome to Zoras Domain, Terrian. I'm Princess Ruto." the Zoran Princess gave a graceful bow. Terrian bowed his head to her in reply and continued to search his neck for the cut. He was a little afraid to talk. For some reason, the thought of hearing his own voice with Link in the same room seemed to give him a terrible feeling of shame.  
"There isn't even a scab left, was there some kind of doctor here or something?" Terrian asked quietly.  
"Why yes, in fact. He left over five hours ago, he said you'd take a day to wake up. I guess he was wrong." Ruto said.  
Terrian looked around him, examining the decorations and intricate gold designs on the torches and the bed frames while trying to avoid looking in Links direction.  
"I've never been here, this place is kinda nice for a cave." Terrian said. Ruto gave him a slight smile.  
"All that time wandering everywhere and you've never been to Zora's Domain?" Ruto asked.  
"Well I spent most of my time back in the Western Provinces, I only came back just today."  
"And what a welcome you got." Ruto said. Link shuffled in his seat slightly, Terrian looked away. "What were you doing there?" Ruto continued. Small talk was all she could think of at the moment, anything to keep the subject on all their minds from actually being brought up.  
"Looking for my mother mostly…" Terrian favored her by thinking the same way, if there was anyone who wanted to keep that subject from being talked about, it was him. "After Idien told me that my father had been killed and…Link… had gone missing, I left with my friend Bomber and his family. I figured there was nothing keeping me in the direct Kingdom now especially since Ganondorf had taken over." Terrian explained. Ruto sat down opposite Link on the bed next to Terrians. "After I found out that my mother also had died the same year my father and I had moved to Kakariko, I spent most of my time as a blacksmiths assistant, making my own swords in my spare time. I had quite the collection, I even had a replica Master Sword that I made myself from an old legend painted on the walls of a temple there. But I seem to have gotten the details wrong." Terrian said, seeming a little afraid as he took a side glance at the actual Master Sword propped up against the wall beside Links bed.  
He and Ruto were silent for a moment, which was just enough time for a total dreaded silence to fill the room. No one said another word for quite a while, and Terrian was terrified that Link would walk up to him and run him through with that sword at any moment.  
He knew nothing of the shadow being and Links relationship. All he knew was that they at least had one, one that may even have gone as deep as brotherhood. That dark boy in the temple was Links best friend, and he had just killed him.  
Both Terrian and Ruto jolted as Link broke the silence, kicking off his boots and flopping himself onto his bed with his back still turned to the other two. Ruto almost fell as the soft mattress moved around under her and Link just about yanked the blankets clear out from underneath her. He shuffled around to get comfortable, purposely shoving his back into Ruto to make her to get off. She stood up quickly, not making an annoyed 'huff' as was usual for her, but sighing sadly as she walked towards the door. She opened the door and turned to face Terrian.  
"Well it is nearly midnight, so I should guess you'd both be tired." she said quietly, looking at Link momentarily just to see if maybe she might get even a slight acknowledgment of the fact that there were two other people in the room. He made no such signs, she looked back at Terrian who was also looking towards Link, not quite thinking the same thing though. For Link to really acknowledge that he was there in the same room was one of the last things he wanted. He met Ruto's gaze as he looked away from Link. "…Goodnight." she said quietly, and closed the door as she left them.

It was quiet, too quiet in fact. A mist hung loftily in the emptiness, there was no sun, no shadow, no torchlight. It was neither night nor day, cold nor warm, dry nor wet, it simply was.  
"The road behind you has been long, its twists and turns heartbreaking. Things have made a turn for the worse in your fated meeting with your dark half. The laws of the universe have been broken, his spirit is now completely void of anything good. His conscience has been destroyed and his heard has been shrouded with hate. The road that lay ahead is unknown." Came a luminous voice that Link found familiar. " Though your soul and mind are burdened by what this uneven turn has brought, do not falter, o' Hero of Time. Do not forsake your destiny, not everything is as it seems. The power given to you is not easily born by a weak mind, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. Do not despair, and fear not." the voice told him.  
"…Rauru..?" Link asked. The voice did not reply, but Link knew that it was that same Sage, the Sage of Light whom he had met in the Sacred Realm. "What would you know of how I'm feeling, I'm not afraid."  
"Your heart speaks otherwise, young hero. You seem to have lost one dear friend at the hands of another, no one soul can bear the weight of such sorrow and feel nothing." Rauru' voice echoed all around, but seemed to not have a direct source from anywhere within his surreal dream state.  
"Terrian didn't have a choice, it was him or Dink, and I guess he was just quicker. I don't hold it against him."  
"Once again you deny your hearts true feelings, but do not completely shut them out. If you truly hold no grievances against the young boy that saved your life, then awaken…" Rauru' voice began to fade slowly and Link felt a slight breeze begin to rush around him. "Awaken NOW!" he shouted loudly. Suddenly the breeze that at once had been slight was now quite strong. The mist began to darken, and all of his surroundings began to change. It became colder and wetter, and the mist swirled quickly all around him. He quickly jolted up from his lying position on his bed in the chamber, the misted room was gone and all that remained was the same room he had fallen asleep in. He looked around, Terrian was asleep. Something stood above him as he lay motionless, and Link nearly stopped breathing as he grabbed his sword at his bedside and jumped out from the blankets.  
"TERRIAN!" he yelled. The thing which stood over the sleeping boy was a dark shadow that Link recognized at once, and he held his arms into the air holding his sword aimed directly at Terrians chest. Link lunged out and grasped Terrians arm, yanking him off the bed just as Dinks sword pierced through the blankets and went straight through the mattress underneath them. Terrian stood up quickly, grasping his sheathed sword and pulling it from its sheath. Dink was nowhere to be seen, and both Link and Terrian stood in their underclothes in the dark chamber looking franticly about, waiting for him to reappear.  
Suddenly Terrian sprang over his bed and swung his sword at a shadow where Link now saw someone standing. He heard the clang of blade against blade as he quickly followed him. Link readied his sword as he stood beside Terrian, who also held his blade straight for the person.  
"No, Link, it's me!" came a voice from the shadow "it's me, Dink!" he said. They both heard the sound of metal as Dink dropped his sword onto the stone floor. Terrian looked at Link and then back to the dark shadow. The voice they now heard from Dink wasn't the same as it had been in the Temple chamber. It was no longer deep, dark, and chilling, they realized, but sounded just like Links. Neither of them could see who was really in the darkness, it was a place where the now dim torchlight couldn't reach.  
"Step back, Terrian. Come on into the light." Link said to the person. He and Terrian both kept their swords ready and they backed away slowly. Dink stepped into the light with his hands in the air, Link nearly dropped his sword. It really was Dink, not the evil black shadow that he had fought and seen killed in the Temple, but the Dink he remembered from when they were kids, just older. Dink gave him a weak smile.  
"Heh, nice to see you too, bud. This is the welcome I get after seven years?" he laughed cautiously with his hands still in the air.  
"Welcome?! You just tried to skewer me with a piece of metal! And it wasn't the first time!" Terrian said loudly, and suddenly gasped as he realized something else "And you've go my sword!" he said as he saw that his other sword was strapped to Dinks back. Dink looked confused. "You got me covered, right Link?" Terrian asked as he slowly stepped forward and yanked the sword out from Dinks sheath strap. Link wasn't really paying Terrian too much attention. Dink gaped at the blade as Terrian quickly stepped away.  
"I've never seen that before in my life, and do what to who with a piece of metal? I don't have a clue what you're talking about!" Dink pleaded. "Where in the world did you find this whiny baby, Link? I mean, I know I was gone for a while, but at least you could have found someone a little less pouty to replace me!" Dink laughed again.  
"Wait, what do you mean you don't have a clue? This just happened seconds ago, you don't remember anything?" Link asked him. Dink shook his head quickly with a half smile and a shrug of his shoulders. Terrian and Link exchanged concerned glances, this probably meant that he had no memory of nearly killing Link or of the battle that (so they had thought) had ended with his own death. Dink looked back and forth between them both.  
"What's the big deal, someone got it in for the kid or something? Whoever it is, I don't blame 'em" Dink scoffed. Terrian glared at him. "Listen, I don't even know how I got here, but I do know that I just got here, and unless there's some freak that can magically teleport right in front of my eyes and have me not see it, than I think you were dreaming." Dink explained "now could you PLEASE get these sharp pointy objects away from my face, I'm beginning to think you don't like me anymore, Link." Link slowly lowered his blade and nodded at Terrian to do the same. Dink sighed and jumped passed them onto Terrians bed, plopping down onto his back and holding his arms behind his head. Link and Terrian decided they weren't going back to sleep, and put on their clothes, boots, and gear just for the heck of it. "Nice place you guys got here, I feel wiped. These mattresses are so squishy, too!" Dink smiled, bouncing himself up and down on his back. "I could fall asleep in seconds. I'm kinda glad that guy sent me here..." Dink caught himself before he said too much, looking to make sure neither of the other two noticed. He sat back up onto the side of the bed and watched Terrian and Link solemnly sheath their weapons, he also stood up off the bed and picked his sword off the floor to sheath it. "Hey Link, why the long face? I thought you'd be happy to see me." Dink smiled. Link was about to speak when the chamber door was blasted open and about seven spear-armed Zoran Guards poured into the room, led by Princess Ruto.  
"What's all the-?!" Ruto began, but stopped as she saw Dink standing in front of Link and Terrian. Dink rolled his eyes.  
"Oh ugh, more pointy objects aiming at me." he moaned and put his hands back into the air. Ruto was shocked.  
"is that-? But I thought-is it really? Link, is he-?" Ruto asked, obviously confused and angry.  
"Dink, the name's Dink." Dink said without looking at her, instead staring blankly and irately at the wall. "they don't think I tried to skewer them with pieces of metal too, do they? Or is this 'be particularly cruel and blame everything on Dink' day." he asked sarcastically.  
"Link, Terrian, what's going on?" Ruto asked them.  
"Ah, so it's Terrian, is it? Nice to meet you Terrian, I'm Dink, dark side to Link and the ruler of the fairy kingdom. Now that we're all good friends I'd like to put my hands back down before they do it on their own when my joints harden and fall apart." Dink said.  
"I'd say that explains it." Terrian said. "Ruler of the fairy Kingdom. He's royalty, Princess, show him your best prison cell."  
"No, wait." Link said. Dink looked towards him. "He is who he says he is, my dark side, I mean. I've told you about him, Ruto." Link said, looking back at the Princess, the guards behind her still tense and holding their spears readily.  
"Yes, but I thought-" she began, Link shook his head to stop her from continuing her sentence. She looked even more confused, but heeded none the less.  
"By what means might you have come to be within these private quarters?" asked one of the guards, presumed by the others to be a captain or he wouldn't have spoken without Princess Ruto's consent. Dink rolled his eyes and all but Ruto and the guards could sense an extremely sarcastic reply coming.  
"Well, my good man, by means of well clad feet and the handiness of a doorknob, it seems entrance may be easily acquired by one with proper knowledge of how to use them." Dink said. Link closed his eyes and nearly winced. Dink was digging himself into a rut by making quick enemies of the heavily armed guards that already didn't like him. Terrian couldn't help but laugh a little. All the guards glared at Dink, and Ruto looked at him in shock, he seemed to have no fear of what could happen to him now that he had been caught sneaking into the Kings royal quarters.  
"You did just break into the private quarters of King Zora, you know Dink." Link said to him. Dink scoffed and rolled his eyes again.  
"It seems to me, Link, that you once broke into the royal courtyard of the King of Hyrule. A small feat I'm sure for you, but still, I wouldn't be talking about crimes against royalty when, had you been caught, you would have been treated a lot worse than this." Dink said. Link shook his head, and then realized what Dink had just said. How could he have known that he had broken into the Kings courtyard? He looked at Dink, shocked as Dink also realized what he had just told him.  
The guards looked offended. One of them rushed from his place beside Princess Ruto and stepped towards Dink.  
"Alright, mister smarty, lets go and see just how badly you can be treated and what happens to sneaks in this Domain." the guard said, stepping forward to grab Dinks arm. Dink quickly stepped back into the shadows as Terrian brought his weapons back up into defense positions. All the guards clenched their weapons quickly and most of them stepped in front of Princess Ruto faster than she had time to move at all. The rest lunged after Dink as he stepped back into the black corner that he had been standing in before, disappearing from sight.  
"Wait!" Link shouted, reaching for Dink before the guards could get to him. Link grabbed his shoulder, and before he knew what was  
happening, everything went pitch black and he couldn't hear or see anything. He couldn't feel Dinks shoulder in his grasp anymore, he couldn't feel the floor under his feet, it was just like the dream he had had. Only this was much darker and colder, and the place's very essence seemed to drain the energy from every muscle in his body.

"Where did they go?" Ruto asked Terrian, stepping forward past the wall of guards and grabbing a torch from the wall.  
"I don't know.." He replied. "They're not anywhere in the room, they just vanished!" Terrian exclaimed. Ruto stood thinking for a minute, then turned out of the room and walked down the hall. Terrian followed, leaving the guards alone in the dimly lit and quiet chamber.

Link took a step in the darkness, and suddenly things got a  
little brighter. He stood looking around, in wonder as to where he was. Although he could see around him, it was still very dark.  
Dink was nowhere to be seen, in fact, nothing was. He still heard no voices, or even the sound of a faint breeze. This too was just the same as his dream, but the further he walked into this dark, eerie place, the colder and weaker he felt.  
"I'm shocked, utterly shocked…" Came the same chilling voice he had heard in the Water Temple just before he had encountered the shadowy form of Dink. He quickly turned around, and still saw nothing. "I must say, this is a truly breath-taking event to witness." Dink said "I'm honored to be the first and last one to see it."  
Link turned and in a split second, there stood the same evil shadow of Dink in front of him, his glowing red eyes the only sign of light anywhere.  
"Terrian killed you, I saw you die!" Link said. Dink laughed.  
"Ha! You saw a classic possum move, its called playing dead. Seriously, I thought you were smarter than that. I'm ashamed to call your mind my source of life." he laughed.  
"You're not the same Dink, he was here, what did you do with him?!" Link yelled, for some reason he still continued to get weaker.  
"Oh you've got it all wrong, I'm that same guy. You think there are two guys walking around that are as awesome as me? Well, I think this form is still an improvement, but either-or, ya know?" Link was silent. "Oh I know, you're all confused because I was all ignorant of being in the Temple before but now I'm the same as I was then, and you're thinking 'how could anyone play dead with a sword through their pancreas.' Well, I wont tell you that, you can figure it out all by your lonesome." Link could hear the smile as Dink mocked him.  
"…Where am I…?" Link asked, his legs feeling like they could give out any moment.  
"The Evil Realm, a sort of haven for all that is vile, demented,  
and cruel. A waste basket for Hyrule's nasty creepy-crawlies, and a checkpoint for travel between shadows. I can come and go from anywhere at any time through even the tiniest of shadowy places." Dink explained, Link was shocked to hear where he was. "Only evil can survive here, hence the name 'Evil Realm', but I do think you're the first non-evil that hasn't fallen dead flat on his face as soon as he entered. Anything and everyone good that has tried to enter this Evil Realm has died, except you." He said thoughtfully. "Well I suppose you're not just some good guy, and you've got a conveniently strong connection to someone who basically lives here. But I can pretty much guarantee that you wont last more than an hour, so lets start the clock, shall we? Less than an hour, I win. More than an hour, well… by that time the darkness will have drained your will to live and you'll beg me to kill you, I'll be nice and give you a last wish. So either way I win." Dink leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.  
"If you wanted me dead so badly, why didn't you take your chance when you had it in the Domain? Why did you go for Terrian first?" Link asked him. Dink shook his head and chuckled.  
"The little jerk stabbed me, I was just getting even. But you wouldn't know anything about that because you don't believe in revenge, do you?"  
"Not as much as you do." Link glared at him. "If I'm going to die here, I'll do it neither quickly nor easily. I'm not going down without a fight, and this one ought to be a little more fair than your fight with Terrian. You may have been playing dead when he finished you, but now I know what your true weakness is." And with that Link drew the Master Sword, and suddenly the whole area went ablaze with a white light that emanated from the blade. A surge of power shot up his arm as he grasped the sword, it seemed to lessen the effects this evil place had on him.  
"Well that was fast, I thought it'd take you a lot longer than that to figure it out." Dink wasn't so happy-go-lucky anymore, he uncrossed his arms, drew his sword, and stepped away from the wall. " So you're all big and bad now, right? After that monster of a cold shoulder you gave that kid when you thought he had killed me, now you'll just get rid of me for good and say everything's all right." Dink and Link began to walk slowly in a circle facing each other, their identical but opposite blades each glowing in their own light. "Remember mister Hero, you kill me and you lose both sides of me. That crap sword you've got there will suck the life from me, just as mine almost did to both you and Terrian. Are you strong enough to lose me twice?" Dink grinned.  
"I'm not planning on killing you, but since the stakes are even on both sides, I figure we've each got a fighting chance." Link replied.  
"…Terrian wasn't planning on killing me either, remember. He was forced to a choice, him or me. He chose me, but I wonder, who will you chose?" Dink stopped circling and swiftly slashed an attack at Link. Link ducked and deterred the blade with his shield, sending sparks into the air above him. "Uh oh, I scratched daddy's shield, do I get a spanking now?" Dink laughed. Link shoved the shield into Dinks chest, pushing him backwards and knocking his balance off a little. "So you're actually going to give me a fight this time? Bring it on, pal!" Dink yelled, taking a swing at Links neck. He dodged it barely, maneuvering to his left and striking Dink in the side with his shield. He heard Dink gasp as his breath was force quickly from his lungs. He stumbled over an uneven spot on the floor and attempted to regain his balance. He turned back to face Link quickly, glaring as he took a better hold on his sword. Suddenly he disappeared from Links view and into the shadows with a slight swoosh of air, leaving Link to only guess where he should aim his shield.  
" What is hidden in the darkness?…" came Dinks voice from all around him. "Tricks of ill will… you cannot see the way forward" his voice echoed loftily, sending cold shivers all over Links body and making the life-draining effect of the Evil Realm take an even greater toll on his mind.  
Dinks voice was silent and he made no obvious appearances anywhere. Link shifted his gaze from left to right and back again, keeping very cautious and on edge. Then as he listened very closely to everything around him, a small noise let him know that he was being stalked from behind. He quickly lunged around and he and Dink each took a quick, forceful swing towards each others head and their blades met. White and black sparks shot from their point of contact, which screeched and wailed in a sickening roar. Each of the blades natural reaction was to destroy each other, although unsuccessful.  
Link pushed the Master Sword down as hard as he could, sliding the Dark Master Sword towards the ground. Dinks red eyes narrowed as they stared each other down. Suddenly Link yanked the swords apart, breaking their connection and stopping the terrible noise. And with one blinding fell swoop, he sliced the blade across Dinks arm. Dink let out a gut wrenching scream and stumbled backwards, gripping his arm with his other hand. Every muscle in Dinks body shook with pain and rage as he doubled over holding his arm. They made no movement for a moment, and all that was heard was Dinks shaky, whimpering breath. Then without letting go of his arm, he fell flat on his bottom with a thud.  
"Ouch! That hurt, Link!" Dink whimpered. A shocking tingle went down Links spine as he heard Dink speak. This wasn't his deep, dark voice, nor his normal older voice that he had heard in the Domain. This was the voice of a child. Link took a second  
glance at him. His form was smaller, much smaller, and his eyes were wide and childish. They no longer glowed the hate filled red they had just moments ago. Dink had somehow changed into a child, no older than when they had first met. He stared at Link with big tear-filled eyes, holding his arm and sobbing quietly. Link stared back blankly as he found himself being sent back in memory to that day when he found Dink in the forest, and how they had traveled from his home together in search of the world outside. Dink continued to whimper as he wiped a tear from his face.  
Link was lost in thought, when suddenly Dink transformed back into the full-grown killer that he was. He lunged at Links feet causing him to fall flat on his back. Link was quickly shaken from his train of memories as the air in his lungs was forced out of him  
from the impact. Dink stood up and grabbed him by his sheath strap around his shoulder. He yanked him from the ground and held his sword to Links gut, his body still shaking. Link glanced towards Dinks arm and was surprised to see blood dripping from an actual wound.  
Dink was livid with pure hatred, and glared as he pressed the blade harder into Links stomach. Link winced and gasped for breath.  
" I didn't think you had it in you to play mean, Link…" Dinks voice shook, and Link could tell he was struggling to keep the effects of the Master Swords wound from showing. He was becoming weaker, this was visibly obvious, and he wrestled himself to stay standing. Link couldn't stand to see his friend like this, and he wished he knew how to help him.  
At that moment he felt Dink lessen the pressure against the blade he held towards him, and he slowly loosened the grip he held on Links sheath strap. Link stepped backwards as Dinks arms fell to his side and he dropped his sword. He struggled to keep his eyes open as his balance began to lessen.  
"…Dink…" Link said quietly. "This isn't who you are, Dink, you have to remember the person you were before.." Dink silently swayed back and forth on his wobbly legs, hanging his head towards the ground and breathing weakly. "You're my friend, remember that… please." Link said to him. Dink looked up at him slowly, his eyes barely open. And with that, he went completely limp and fell backwards. Link rushed to catch him before he hit the ground, and as his hands met Dinks head, an incredible thing happened. The pure black shadow that covered Dinks body was quickly dissolved away, leaving Dinks normal form lying there, barely conscious.  
"…Link…?" Dink asked quietly as he looked up at him. " What happened? Where are we, are we still in the Domain?" he asked. Link shook his head.  
" No, Dink, we're in the Evil Realm…" Link told him. Dinks eyes became wide.  
"..The Evil Realm? What are you doing here?! You have to get out of here, you'll die if you stay! We'll both die!" Dink warned anxiously.  
" Trust me, I feel better than you do." Link said, but sort of regretted it afterwards. "Besides, I wont leave you in here like this."  
"But… what happened, did one of those lame guards get the drop on me before I ported? I feel like I'm dead… or dying" Dink held his arm. "And my arm is killing me, like its on fire…or frozen, it hurts like hell!" Dink winced and gritted his teeth, grabbing his arm tighter. Link felt guilt fill his mind as he watched his friend writhe in pain from the wound he had given him. He was compelled and determined to get Dink out of here and to someone who could help. He remembered how he and Terrian had rid themselves of the dark poison from Dinks blade by simply touching the Master Sword, he thought maybe Dinks sword might do the same thing, and he gasped with this realization. But then he thought about it a second time, Dink had been holding the sword when he was struck, and had been holding it the whole time. If it had the same healing power the Master Sword did, it would have healed him to begin with.  
" Dink, I'm going to get you out of here…" he began, but was stopped very quickly. He was suddenly being surrounded by a bright yellow light that created a barrier between him and Dink. Dinks eyes remained closed, he was slipping away. "DINK, NO!" Link yelled, but found that even he himself could not hear his own voice as the light became brighter. Dink quickly faded from his view, as did the darkness of the Evil Realm around him. He was being taken from the Realm by someone or something, he felt his feet lift from the ground. "DINK!" he reached down towards where his friend had once been lying motionless on the cold ground. But it was no use, he was long gone.


	15. Two Halves of a Whole

CHAPTER 15  
Two Halves of a Whole

Link descended into a familiar large stone chamber, the huge stained-glass windows high above him were dark with the clouds outside covering the morning sun and restraining it from shining down onto him and the platform where he stood. A single stone pedestal stood alone in front of him, etched with the Hylian Crest. He had been taken to the Temple of Time, but by who?  
He squinted in the light as his eyes became used to it. Even though it was not very bright at all in the chamber, his eyes were still accustom to the blackness of the Evil Realm. He took short glances around the room. In the shadowy corners behind the platform, he saw two figures. He tried to gaze into the darkness to see who these people were, but his eyes were still adjusting. His sword was still drawn, and he didn't sheath it.  
"Who's there?" he asked. The figures stepped forward out of the shadows, and Link saw that they were Princess Ruto and Sheik. Link sighed and sheathed his sword as he saw them.  
" Oh Link! Are you alright?! I was so worried!" Ruto exclaimed as she ran towards him.  
"I'm fine. Why did you bring me back?" he asked Sheik as he came closer. Ruto looked confused.  
"We had to! We knew where that shadow had taken you!" Ruto said, looking at Sheik for agreement.  
"I'm surprised you survived at all. Nothing but evil can enter the Evil Realm. Yet another example of the power you posses, O' Hero of the Gods." Sheik explained.  
"Well I have to go back.." Link said to them. Ruto was shocked and looked at him confused and anxious. "Dink is still in there, if he's not dead already. I have to help him get out! He needs help!" Link said angrily.  
"Just because you survived one journey into the Evil Realm does not mean you would survive a second. Neither you nor any soul alive in Hyrule can risk your dying in the Evil Realm for one person." Sheik said very seriously. Links heart raced, he knew he had to get back there now, he had to save his friend.  
"He's dying in there! I cant just leave him to die!" he yelled. Sheik remained calm, and Ruto stepped away solemnly.  
"I'm sorry. Even if I would, I do not know how to send you back." Sheik stated. They were all silent, Link stood there helpless against what had happened. More than anything he regretted taking that strike. Sheik walked passed him slowly, leaving the chamber on the way to the exit of the temple. Ruto followed, stopping to put a comforting hand on Links shoulder as she passed.  
"I'm sorry Link…" she said, and continued towards the exit. Link looked up into the sunless sky through the windows. He knew he had no way to enter the Realm again, but one of the things he wondered about the most was how, and why so suddenly did Dink change from shadow to normal simply at his touch? Or even more troubling, would he stay that way. And how had he been suddenly normal in Zoras Domain with no memory of their battle but then returned to shadow in the Evil realm with? These questions, as his mind was set, would never be answered. This was the second time he had been forced without a choice into leaving his best friend for dead. How, he wondered, would he himself have faired if Dink was forced into such a choice. He questioned his own power, as he now knew that it had been Dink that had kept him alive through his battles, whether he realized it at the time or not. He now knew that it had been Dink who had saved him and the people of Kakariko from King Dodongo, and it had been Dink who had pulled him from the rapids of the Zoras River and forged the note that he had thought was from Princess Ruto. He and Malon had thought he had left them for no reason, but in reality, he had never really left at all. He was unbelievably ashamed with himself. He may have been chosen as a fore-told hero, destined to save his land from evil, but at this moment he felt as if his dark half was the more loyal out of the two of them. Dink was right, he had treated his destiny more importantly than his best friend.  
Link turned around to face the large squared entrance to the chamber, where he remembered Dink had stood and told him not to pull the sword. Somehow, he knew, he knew Ganondorf would come and that Link would be taken to the Sacred Realm, but he didn't know that it wasn't Link that Ganondorf had come for. He could hardly bare the guilt that was drowning his heart as he closed his eyes and tried to keep from crying.  
"..Link.." Sheiks voice echoed quietly as he stood beside the large door that led out of the chamber. Link looked up at him and Ruto waiting for him at the door. He choked back his tears and walked slowly towards them to leave the temple.

Ganon paced the floor of his tower restlessly, mumbling to himself as his deep red cape swooshed left and right.  
" How is it even possible?! How can there be TWO of them?! Or are there two of them, or was the brat trying to play tricks on my mind?! No, it wasn't him, it couldn't have been Link, no, it was a completely different boy, he just looked the same… but why?! And what happened…" Ganon paused and held up his hand, it was burnt and scarred. "When I grabbed the boys throat, he…changed, but into what?! He disappeared and took that sword with him!" Ganon continued pacing with another deep, angry growl. " The little rodents, how can they hide from me like this?! That boys power will only make mine all the more difficult to obtain, now I must find and capture not two chosen bearers, but three! The Triforce pieces were not meant to be split, not in this way…" he paused again. "But…is the dark boy an enemy or and ally? And to whom is he which?" Ganon thought aloud, a slight smirk creeping onto his face. " I could care less about the Master Sword, but an exact evil incarnation of the same sword…that may be useful… but is that what the sword really is? Or is it the same in appearance but useless in power? Even if the sword itself is useless, its wielder has a piece of the Triforce in his possession, so I will need him anyway." Ganondorf paused and held his chin in thought. "Yes, I could gain his trust, make him think we have a common goal. And once I've gained his trust it may be easier to lure the other two out from under the blanket of protection the Sages have placed on them. I will strip them of the power they posses then put them out of my misery!"  
At that moment there was a knock on the enormous door to the chamber in which Ganon stood. Ganons thought was broken and he glared at the door.  
"Yes? What is it?!" he yelled. The door opened and a large iron-clad knight entered.  
"My liege, the boy's been spotted." the knight said.  
"Which boy?" Ganon asked.  
"The one with the Master Sword." said the knight  
"Which Master Sword?" the knight was silent and stood in the doorway completely motionless.  
"The…shiny one?" the knight stuttered. Ganon growled.  
"You imbecile, was it blue or black?!" he yelled. The knight coward slightly as Ganon yelled at him.  
"Blue, sir, it was blue!" he said sheepishly.  
"Where?.."  
"Heading towards Kakariko, my Lord, not an hour ago. He wasn't alone, a Sheikiah and the Zoran Princess accompanied him." the knight finished. Ganon grinned. "Also, we've captured a strange prisoner… I do believe you may want to see this one for yourself." the knight said. Ganondorfs curiosity was perked up, and he glanced up at the knight. The knight nodded at him, knowing what that look meant. In stumbled the prisoner, tripping over himself as the knight shoved him into the room. He fell on his hands and knees, which gave out under his weight. He was clearly very weak. Ganon grinned very widely at the sight of the prisoner lying pitifully on the stone ground.  
"He was found lazing about in the Evil Realm, he's injured on his arm. The poor brat couldn't even stand. This was found with him." the knight explained, and threw something onto the ground beside him. Ganons grin became a power-thirsty and dark smile.  
"That'll be all…" he said, waving for the knight to leave. He bowed and did so with much haste, closing the door behind him tightly. Ganondorf walked slowly passed the prisoner as he lay motionless, a look of pain etched onto his face as he breathed weakly. He chuckled and picked up the object the knight had thrown onto the ground, a long black sword. The prisoner opened one eye barely and looked up at him as he stood towering over him.  
"How very nice of you to pay me another visit, Dark Link."

Kakariko Village had changed so much since Link had last seen it. The tree in the center of the lower level was much larger, and many of the buildings had changed. The one thing that hadn't changed was the windmill which turned and creaked just as it had as if he had never left. As he, Ruto, and Sheik rode their horses slowly passed the large tree, he looked up to the second stair level where he remembered Bomber and his parents had lived. The small cottage was now a shop, Link could tell by the large sign above the door. On the lower corner of the house was a dark black scorch mark, a permanent reminder of his second deadly battle with King Dodongo where Dink had saved his life.  
Many people in the village he recognized from his first visit to Castle Town, though they all seemed much more troubled then he remembered. As they passed by a house that now looked deserted, he saw the building that the traveling carpenters had been working on when he first came to the village as a child. A sign hung above its door that sent a very sudden and thrilling shock into his memory. He recognized the sign, it was the same sign that had hung over Idiens Blacksmith Shop in Castle Town. Was it true? Could Idien have survived the battle that had claimed so many soldiers lives those seven years ago? Sheik and Ruto stopped at the foot of a flight of stone stairs as Link jumped from Epona's back and ran from them and up the two sets of different stairs that led to the building. He reached for the door handle and flung it open, stopping right in the doorway. There were two people in the building. Terrian stood above a grinding stone sharpening one of his blades, and a large older man sat behind the counter. His mustache was grey and his head was bald, this man Link recognized as Brontas. Link shut the door behind him and Terrian looked up from his project quickly, lifting his foot from the pedal that was turning the wheel and staring at Link in surprise.  
"Morning sir, what can I do for ya?" Brontas stood from his chair and stepped up to the counter with a smile. " I can build, destroy, shape, re-shape, and mend any blade or piece of metal ya give to me." he stated happily. " I'd say we could sharpen yer blade there but mister Terrian over here's been hoggin' the dern grindin' wheel for over two hours. I kept telling him he was gonna wear the metal into nothing but he never even seemed to notice I was sittin here." Brontas grinned towards Terrian as Terrian continued to stare at Link, look of anxiousness on his face. "So.." Brontas continued. "What'll it be?" he asked. Link couldn't think of what to say. He knew Terrians thoughts were fixed on Dink and on where they had been for so long. Ruto and Sheik probably didn't tell him about the Evil Realm. He also didn't see Idien anywhere, and his hopes of seeing his Godfather alive again dropped severely. Brontas squinted his eyes towards Link and raised one eyebrow slightly.  
"Hey, you seem a bit familiar, you been around here before?" he asked. Then suddenly his face beamed with realization and an enormous smile spread across his face. "That shield! I know you! By gosh, you're…!"  
"…Link?…" came a different voice that interrupted Brontas. Link turned towards Terrian, who was looking behind him towards a door that was now opened. Just next to the open door stood Idien.  
"Link! that's it, now I remember! Ha! Can you believe it Idien, here he is! After all these years he's outlasted more than most!" Brontas exclaimed. Idien walked up to Link, setting down a box that he had taken from the room he had just exited. Link could see his eyes filling up as he smiled.  
"I suppose you're too old for hugs now…" Idien laughed shakily. Link threw his arms around Idiens shoulders and hugged him tightly.  
"I owe you seventeen years worth of hugs." Link said. Idien laughed and patted Links shoulder. They stepped away, and Idien kept a hand on Links shoulder. He looked him over and shook his head with a smile.  
"Good lord, kid, you're as tall as I am!" Idien exclaimed.  
"Taller, I'd say.." Brontas murmured. Idien raised an eyebrow to the man, Link laughed.  
"Yeah he's probably right, after all your dad was quite a bit taller than me."  
"Who isn't?" Brontas murmured again.  
"Hey alright Brontas, just because I'm not the Commander anymore doesn't mean I cant fire you." Idien said jokingly.  
"Yes sir" Brontas grinned with a chuckle. There was a sound of metal on metal as Terrian sheathed his blade behind Idien. He walked away from the wheel and passed them towards the door that led outside.  
"I'll see you guys later.." he said as he opened the door. He gave Link a last meaningful look that Link knew meant 'I want to know everything' then he closed the door behind him.  
Idien couldn't stop smiling as he continued to admire how Link had grown up in the past seven years.  
"That shield fits you perfectly" Idien shook his head in disbelief. "I just can't believe how much you look like your dad!" Idien laughed.  
"Yeah I know! I do look like him, don't I?" Link told him. Idien looked at him sideways with a half smile.  
"You met my father, didn't you…" He asked.  
"Yeah, yesterday." Link nodded. Idien sighed, he was still smiling but he seemed sad.  
"How is he?"  
"He's really good, Idien. He was fishing when I met him, then he showed me my old house and we had ham for breakfast." Link told him. Idien laughed again.  
"Ham and eggs I imagine? Ha, that was my favorite, we had it all the time! But then, that might just have been because it was the only breakfast he knew how to cook." He and Idien laughed at that, Brontas chuckled behind the counter. "On more than one occasion I would wake up and go to your house for breakfast." Idien said, and his smile changed to the sad and regretful one again. Then he sighed quickly and patted Links arm. "Well, lets go over to Impa's cottage, there are a few people there I'm sure would like to see you, too." Idien told him. "Cover for me, will you Brontas?" Idien said as they began to leave.  
"As always, sir." Brontas agreed slightly begrudgingly. He was always covering for Idien while he went out and did things other than work.

"Terrian, there's a blood stain on the back of your shirt. Are you cut somewhere?" Bomber told Terrian, pointing at his back. Terrian tried to turn his head back far enough to see where Bomber was pointing and saw the patch of cloth that was darker and more red than blue as the rest of his tunic was. The maid who washed his clothes in Zoras Domain must have missed a spot.  
"Um, yeah, I mean I was. I must have forgotten to clean up." Terrian didn't want to lie to the boy, but he also didn't want to tell him about nearly bleeding to death at the hands of one of Links friends. Impa looked doubtful at Terrians explanation and Ruto seemed a little embarrassed and shocked that her maids could have missed such a large spot.  
"So I imagine your weapons are nice and sharp now, eh Terrian? You were over at the Commanders shop for two hours. Idien can get pretty talkative, can't he?" Anthan smiled.  
"Dad, I might need to sharpen my sword, too. I haven't given it a good grinding in a while." Bomber told his father. Anthan thought for a moment.  
"Well, just because we're friends with the Commander, too, doesn't mean that we'll be able to get it for free. Idien and Brontas have to make a living and they only let Terrian do it for free because he's a little older than you, and it was only for one time." Anthan explained.  
"Well I can pay for it myself, I have a few rupees." Bomber informed his father. All the while the two were talking and never really noticed how quiet Terrian, Ruto, and Impa were, and never really noticed Sheik at all. Terrian sat by the fire with a bowl of water and a cloth trying to get the blood out of his tunic while Ruto stood by a window gazing into the sky. Sheik and Impa were sitting at the table across from the fire place.  
At that moment there was a knock at the door. Bomber jumped from his seat on a stool beside a shelf of dishes and strode to answer it. It took him a moment to find his words as he saw who stood at the door.  
"…BIG BROTHER!" he finally managed to yell.  
"Bomber!" Link exclaimed with an astounded smile. Bomber didn't give him a hug as Idien had, he was a teenage boy now, he didn't hug other teenage boys. They instead grasped each others hands in a firm and excited handshake and bumped their shoulders in a kind of half-hug. Link and Idien entered the house shutting the door behind them as Link and Anthan greeted each other the same way he and Bomber had.  
"Where'd you come from, Link?!" Bomber asked happily. Terrian and Sheiks expressions hardly changed, although Impa did smile at Links arrival, and Ruto always blushed and smiled whenever she was near Link.  
"I just came from Idiens shop, I didn't even know you guys were here!" Link told him.  
"We've only been here since yesterday afternoon. We came with Terrian, but he didn't actually find us here till early this morning." Anthan told him.  
"Look, Link. I'm just about as tall as you are." Bomber laughed, standing up straight next to Link, looking up at the top of Links head to see how far apart in height they were. His gaze trailed down to Links sword and shield, and his eyes became wide.  
"…Link… that sword… is that?" he stuttered.  
"What?" Anthan asked, standing up from his chair and walking back over to Link. Sheik and Impa exchanged thoughtful glances as the two discovered the Master Sword.  
"Where did you get that, Link?" Idien asked him quite seriously, he himself had just now noticed the Master Sword. Link didn't know what to say.  
"It's the Master Sword, dad!" Bomber exclaimed in shock "I know it is! I've seen paintings of it back home!"  
"By gosh, it is! How'd you get this, Link?!"  
"It looks kinda different than the one you made, Terrian." Bomber said.  
"Uh, well, It's a long story…" Link told them. He had no idea how to tell them the story that indeed was quite long. He was a little worried about how Idien would react hearing it. Sheik stood up from his chair at the table.  
"Have none of you heard the legends?" he asked them all, not including Impa. It was the first time he had spoken since had arrived, the others seemed a little shocked that he was talking at all. Everyone was silent. " A prophesy has been handed down by my people for centuries of the one who would appear when Hyrule was in dire need of a savior. He would come as an unlikely hero from the north, as a child, and with the aid of the Master Sword and the Six Sages, he would bring down the dark power that had laid seize to this kingdom." Sheik explained. Link seemed a little embarrassed, Idien and the others knew where Sheik was going with this. "He would wield the sword that had chosen him, the Blade of Evils Bane, and bear the Triforce of Courage, the valor of the Gods. This is he, the conqueror foretold, the chosen one of prophesy. The Hero of Time." Sheik finished on a proud note. All but he and Impa looked rather stunned as Sheik crossed his arms.  
An enormous smile covered Bombers face, Link still seemed embarrassed.  
"Wow!" was all Bomber could say. Idien looked like he was about to laugh.  
"I shouldn't be so surprised. I always knew you would end up great." Idien said.  
"I guess that explains the courage that I had thought was insanity at first when you took on that mountain and King Dodongo seven years ago." Anthan told him  
"Well, it might have just been insanity then." Link said, remembering that fight. Idien took Links hand and shook it.  
"The prophesied Hero of Time… your dad would be so proud." he told him. Ruto almost crowded her way passed the three guys to stand in front of Link. She smiled, seeming a little dreamy.  
"I most certainly made a good choice in choosing the man I would marry." she said quietly, but the others standing around them still heard her. Bomber, Idien, and Anthan all exchanged stunned and teasing looks as Ruto leaned in and kissed Link. Bomber had to try extremely hard not to burst out laughing, and Idien seemed a little uncomfortable being so close to them. Anthan just shook his head with a wide smile.  
Ruto stepped away, leaving Link with a baffled and star-struck look on his face. She kept on smiling, expecting Link to say something, but a very sudden and loud scream from outside broke the moment as they all shot their glances towards the window. Everyone in the cottage ran outside, the unarmed men grabbing their weapons and not even bothering to close the door behind them as they rushed to see who had screamed and why.  
Malon stood beside her horse in the center of the lower level of the village staring wide-eyed up at the windmill. Link, Terrian, Anthan, Idien, and Bomber each jumped from the stone ledge on which they stood and rushed to Malons side while Impa, Ruto, and Sheik ran towards the stairs to the lower level.  
"DINK!" Malon screamed again and they all saw what it was she was staring at. Dink stood atop a flight of stairs beside the stairs that led to the Blacksmith Shop. He looked barely conscious and could hardly stand, the only thing keeping him from falling down the stairs was the fierce grip Ganondorf kept around his neck. Link, Anthan, Bomber, and Terrian each drew their swords and Terrian gave his second sword to Idien, who had not brought his weapon. They formed a protective wall in front of Malon, who watched from behind with tears. Ganondorf laughed.  
"Make one wrong move, fools, and the boy is dead!" his voice thundered out at them. They were now the only people outside in the entire village, all others had gone into hiding as soon as they laid their eyes upon the villages unwelcome guest.  
Ganondorf held the Dark Master Sword towards Dink, who was hardly aware of his surroundings or of what was going on.  
"Let him go!" Link yelled. Ganondorf smirked.  
"Very well.." and he let his grip loosen. Dink fell limply to the ground, Ganon keeping the sword to him.  
"What did you do to him?!" Link growled.  
"Oh I did nothing, actually, if not for me he would be dead. It was YOU that did this to him." Ganondorf grinned darkly.  
"What's he talking about, Link? Who is that kid!?" Anthan asked. Link couldn't find the words to say. Ganondorf was right.  
"With the strike you delivered to your so-called best friend, you nearly completely drained the life from his very soul. And then you left him alone to die, ha, and they call you a hero." Ganondorf said coldly. "He survives now only because I allow him to. I give him just the strength he needs to keep his black heart beating, and that is it."  
"Link, do something!" Malon pleaded. Ganondorfs evil tone made even Bombers blood boil as each of them gripped their swords tighter.  
At that moment the door to the Blacksmith Shop burst open and Brontas came rushing out, sword in hand, towards Ganondorf.  
"BRONTAS!" Idien yelled. Brontas jumped from atop the stairs and lunged at Ganondorf below him. Ganon hardly made an effort, he merely lifted the Dark Master Sword and with one strike he ended the mans life. Brontas' body fell to the ground beside him and Ganondorfs smile resumed.  
"YOU BAST…!"  
"Do not DARE speak to me in such ways!" Ganondorf interrupted Idiens curse. "Unless you wish your death to be a slow and painful one." Suddenly Bomber charged towards the man with his sword drawn, yelling lividly as he ran.  
"NO!" Terrian said, lunging at the boy and dropping him to the ground before he made it too close to Ganondorf.  
"LET ME GO, TERRIAN!" Bomber yelled.  
"You'll end up the same!" Terrian told him. Dink stirred slightly at the noise, groaning as a look of pain came to his face.  
"I care not for the soldier or his brat, nor the shamed Commander or the rogue swordsman. I have come for you, Link, you hold the second half of the power that lay within this boy. I will have that power, if I have to kill all in this village to get it. Whether it comes to that or not is your decision, Hero of Time, you can come with me willingly or watch your friends die if you choose to fight me."  
Link looked over to Ruto, Sheik, and Impa standing beside the stone wall that he and the others had jumped from. Ruto looked at him worriedly, shaking her head 'no'.  
"Don't do it, Link. Please.." Idien said to him quietly.  
"Link…no" Malon said shakily. He looked back at them all, they could tell that he was considering it.  
"What other choice do we have?" Link asked them.  
"We can fight! It's five against one, we can take him!" Bomber said as Terrian let him off the ground and stood up himself.  
"That's the option we choose if we all want to die." Terrian said.  
"But Link, you're the hero, and you've go the Master Sword! What else do we need?!" Bomber asked.  
"The Sages, not all of them are awakened. The battle, should you choose it here, would be a short one without them." Sheik said to them. "The Master Sword and sheer courage alone is not enough to defeat such evil."  
They were all quiet, Link lowered his sword. Malon shook her head frantically.  
"No, Link! You can't! He'll kill you, he'll kill both of you!" she said as she began crying again.  
"Please Link, don't go!" Ruto pleaded also. Link turned his gaze back up to Ganondorf and Dink, Brontas' body still lying on the ground beside them. A sudden and terrible vision filled his thoughts of the entire village floor riddled with the dead bodies of its inhabitants. A cold sweat came over him, he knew that if he didn't leave with Ganondorf willingly, that this vision would come into reality.  
"Well?" Ganondorf asked impatiently, Dinks face still covered in pain. Link nodded slowly, sheathing his weapon. Ganondorfs face became wide with a smile of victory, and he reached down to pick Dink off the ground. Dinks eyes became wide open and he gasped for breath, Ganon had given him the strength he needed to stand.  
"Dink!" Malon yelled as Link began to walk towards them. Dinks gaze shot quickly towards the sound of her voice.  
"Malon?" he said quietly. Link had reached them, Ganondorf quickly grasped the front of his shirt and the other arm he wrapped viciously around Dinks neck causing him to cough and gasp for breath.  
Idien led the charge followed by Bomber, Anthan, and Terrian. They rushed as fast as they could towards the three at the top of the stairs, weapons ready to meet the evil man. Suddenly a portal opened behind them, it was dark and purple, swirling as it opened wider. Ganondorfs teeth flashed at them in a terrible grin as he stepped backwards into the portal, taking Link and Dink with him. Idien jumped up the stairs and lunged his sword at where Ganondorf had been standing, but missed him by barely a fraction of a second. His blade came swiftly down and stabbed into the ground. He sat there for a moment, his teeth bared, breathing heavily.  
"NOOO!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, slamming his fist into the earth. The others met up with him, looking down at him and where his sword stuck into the ground. Ganondorf now had two of the three pieces of the Triforce, all that was left was Zelda. He had won this already.


End file.
